THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 
MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 


OF  THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE 


FRANKLIN  INSTITUTE 


A.D.  1824  TO  1874. 


COMMEMORATIVE  EXERCISES 


AT  THE 
I 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 


FRANKLIN    INSTITUTE 

OF  THE  STATE  OF  PENNSYLVANIA  FOR  THE 
PROMOTION  OF  THE  MECHANIC  ARTS. 


HELD  ON  FRIDAY  EVENING,  FEBRUARY  6, 1874, 


MUSICAL  FUND  HALL 


PHILADELPHIA: 
HALL    OF    THE    INSTITUTE, 

SEVENTH  STREET  BELOW  MARKET  STREET. 
1874. 


COLUNS,  PRINTER, 
705  Jayrie  Street. 


INTRODUCTION. 


AT  the  stated  meeting  of  the  Franklin  Institute,  held 
in  December,  1873,  the  president  called  attention  to  the 
fact  that  an  entry  in  the  first  minute  book  showed  that 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1823  preliminary  meet- 
ings were  held  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  which  led  to 
the  foundation  of  the  Institute  during  the  early  part  of 
1824.  He  stated  that  the  propriety  of  some  formal 
recognition  by  the  Society  of  the  completion  of  its  first 
fifty  years  had  been  discussed  among  some  of  its  older 
members.  Upon  motion  of  Mr.  Hector  Orr,  a  resolution 
was  passed,  appointing  a  committee  to  consist  of  five 
members,  including  the  president  of  the  Institute,  as 
chairman,  to  devise  and  carry  out  an  appropriate  cele- 
bration of  the  Anniversary.  The  committee  consisted 
of  Messrs.  Coleman  Sellers,  Hector  Orr,  Frederick 
Fraley,  Bloomfield  H.  Moore,  and  William  P.  Tatham. 

The  meeting  which  had  been  held  on  February  5, 1824, 
having  been  decided  on  as  the  one  which  most  surely 
marked  the  permanent  foundation  of  the  Institute  as  a 
societj*,  it  was  deemed  advisable,  if  possible,  to  hold 
the  commemorative  meeting  on  that  day ;  but  inasmuch 
as  no  suitable  hall  could  be  obtained  for  the  evening  of 


6 

the  5th  of  February,  the  following  day,  namely,  the  6th, 
was  fixed  upon ;  and  at  the  meeting  of  the  Institute  in 
January,  it  was  resolved  that  "When  we  adjourn  we 
adjourn  to  meet  at  the  Musical  Fund  Hall,  on  the  even- 
ing of  February  6th." 

The  meeting  was  public,  and  largely  attended,  in  spite 
of  the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  the  evening  being 
marked  by  one  of  the  heaviest  snow-storms  of  the 
season. 

The  Programme  for  the  evening  was  published  as 
follows : — 


FRANKLIN  INSTITUTE. 

1824-1874. 


PROGRAMME    OF    EXERCISES 

AT  THE 

MUSICAL  FUND  HALL. 

FRIDAY  EVENING,  FEBRUARY  6,  1874. 


MUSIC. 

ASSEMBLY  CALLED  TO  ORDER  BY 

MR.  COLEMAN  SELLERS, 

President  of  Franklin  Institute. 

MUSIC. 
ADDRESS  BY  HON.  FREDERICK  FRALEY, 

Treasurer  of  Franklin  Institute. 

MUSIC. 
ADDRESS  BY  ROBERT  E.  ROGERS,  M.D., 

Professor  of  Chemistry  in  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Vice-President 
of  Franklin  Institute. 

MUSIC. 
ADDRESS  BY  HENRY  MORTON,  Pn.D., 

President  of  Stevens  Institute  of  Technology,  Hoboken,  N.  J.t  and  late 
Secretary  of  Franklin  Institute. 

MUSIC. 
CLOSING  ADDRESS  BY  MR.  COLEMAN  SELLERS, 

President  of  Franklin  Institute. 


COMMEMORATIVE- EXERCISES 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  OF  THE  FRANKLIN  INSTITUTE  OF 
THE  STATE  OF  PENNSYLVANIA  FOR  THE  PRO- 
MOTION OF  THE  MECHANIC  ARTS. 

HELD  AT  MUSICAL  FUND  HALL,  FEBRUARY  6,  1874. 

AT  7  J  P.  M.  the  Board  of  Managers  welcomed  the 
invited  guests  in  the  lower  room  of  the  hall,  and  at 
8  o'clock  precisely,  they  conducted  them  to  the  seats 
provided  for  them  on  the  stage.  After  prelude  of 
music  by  the  orchestra,  the  President,  Mr.  COLEMAN 
SELLERS,  called  the  meeting  to  order  and  said: — 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  :  The  object  of  this  meet- 
ing is  to  commemorate  the  completion  of  fifty  years 
of  active  usefulness  of  the  Franklin  Institute.  Half 
a  century  ago  some  earnest  mechanics  met  together 
to  found  an  Institution  for  the  promotion  of  the 
mechanic  arts.  How  well  the  work  then  started 
prospered  you  all  know.  It  has  been  deemed  fitting 
that  the  ceremonies  of  this  evening  should  so  far  as 
is  possible  tell  the  story  of  the  Society's  history, 
and  also  indicate  the  progress  made  in  the  arts  and 
sciences  during  the  period  of  its  existence.  A  society 
founded  so  long  ago,  must  of  necessity  have  lost 
from  its  roll  of  living  members  many  of  its  earliest 
friends.  But  few  of  those  who  signed  their  names 
to  the  first  pages  of  that  honorable  list  are  now 
living.  Of  those  who  remain,  some  have  long  since 
2 


10 

withdrawn  from  active  participation  in  the  work  of 
this  Institution.  Among  these  was  one  at  whose 
office  some  of  the  preliminary  meetings  were  held. 
I  allude  to  Mr.  George  Washington  Smith.  He  was 
invited  to  address  you  this  evening,  but  his  failing 
health  prevented,  and  he  now  writes : — 

FEBRUARY  5tli,  1874. 

GENTLEMEN:  A  severe  cold,  which  confines  me  to 
my  chamber,  wrill  deprive  me  of  the  great  pleasure 
of  attending  the  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the  founding 
of  the  now  venerable  Franklin  Institute.  I  regret 
this  the  more,  as  I  am  now  the  only  survivor  of  the 
original  founders  of  the  Society  (some  months  before 
the  meeting,  which  organized  the  Society,  on  the 
5th  of  February,  1824).  Some  members  yet  remain 
of  those  who  joined  the  Institute  at  this  latter  date 
(at  the  meeting  at  the  court-house  in  this  city),  and 
also  still  feel  an  unabated  interest  in  the  welfare  of 
the  body  which  they  ushered  into  existence. 

I  fervently  trust  that,  now  we  have  entered  into 
years  of  discretion,  we  shall  in  the  ensuing  half  cen- 
tury equal  and  even  surpass  the  useful  labors  of  the 
past,  and  that  we  will  not  permit  any  of  our  numer- 
ous progeny  in  the  United  States  to  carry  off  the 
palm  which  has  so  long  decorated  our  paternal 
brow — and  that  in  the  next  generation  the  Centen- 
nial celebration  may  have  nothing  to  regret  in  the 
comparison  with  the  present. 

I  remain,  Gentlemen  of  the  Committee  of  the 
Franklin  Institute,  with  great  regard,  your  friend, 
GEO.  WASHINGTON  SMITH. 

To  Messrs.  SELLERS,  TATHAM,  FRALEY,  MOORE,  and  ORR. 


11 

Among  those  who  early  joined  the  Institute  was 
a  young  man  intimate  with  its  early  founders ;  he 
alone  of  all,  remains  yet  in  active  co-operation  in  the 
work  of  the  Society.  During  the  entire  period  of 
its  existence  since  his  connection  with  it,  he  has  held 
prominent  position  in  its  board  of  management. 
During  these  years  he  has  taken  active  part  in  much 
that  has  tended  to  benefit  his  fellow  citizens.  He 
has  been  selected  to  relate  the  history  of  the  Insti- 
tute, for  he  has  helped  to  make  that  history,  and 
his  mature  mind  has  made  him  a  leader  in  its 
councils.  To-day  he  stands  in  our  midst,  one  of  our 
most  valued  citizens,  faithful  in  all  his  trusts,  and  pro- 
minent in  the  councils  of  trade,  as  he  was  for  years 
in  the  council  of  the  State.  Ladies  and  Gentlemen, 
it  is  with  pride  I  announce  him  as  historian,  and 
introduce  to  you  the  Hon.  FREDERICK  FRALEY,  Trea- 
surer of  the  Franklin  Institute. 


ADDRESS  OF  HOX.  FREDERICK  FRALEY. 

MR.  PRESIDENT: 

I  thank  you  most  cordially  for  your  eloquent  and 
flattering  introduction  to  this  meeting.  If  there 
were  anything  calculated  to  disturb  my  equanimity, 
it  would  be  found  in  the  compliments  you  have  paid 
to  me,  for  my  long  connection  with,  and  services  to 
the  Franklin  Institute.  But  I  shall  rely  on  the 
abundance  of  my  materials,  for  presenting  to  this 
audience  in  the  limited  time  which  your  arrange- 
ments allow,  a  brief  sketch  of  the  history  of  our 
Institution.  I  shall  avail  myself  of  the  privilege 
you  have  so  courteously  granted  me,  when  prepar- 


12 

ing  my  remarks  for  publication,  so  to  amplify  and 
collate  them,  that  they  may  in  some  respects  be 
worthy  of  this  great  occasion  for  our  rejoicing.  I 
esteem  it  a  very  great  honor  to  have  been  selected 
as  the  historian  of  the  Institute ;  and,  if  I  shall  fail 
in  words  to  do  full  justice  to  my  subject,  I  shall  not 
fail  in  feeling  that  I  ought  to  put  into  my  utter- 
ances the  obligations  I  personally  owe  to  the  In- 
stitute for  the  many  benefits  I  have  derived  from 
my  long  connection  with  it. 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN: 

Upwards  of  fifty  years  ago  there  were  two  young 
men  residing  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  wholly 
unknown  to  each  other,  and  in  different  walks  of 
life,  who  conceived  the  same  idea,  for  founding  a 
new  institution  for  diffusing  a  knowledge  of  science 
among  mechanics  and  manufacturers.  One  of  them 
was  the  late  SAMUEL  V.  MERBICK,  then  not  quite 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  who  had  been  bred  in  a 
merchant's  counting-house,  and,  up  to  the  time  of 
which  we  are  speaking,  considered  himself  devoted 
to  commercial  pursuits.  But  one  of  those  casualties 
which  overturn  occasionally  business  establishments, 
had  fallen  upon  a  firm  engaged  in  the  manufacture 
of  fire  engines,  to  whom  the  uncle  of  Mr.  Mer- 
rick  (the  late  highly  honored  and  esteemed  John 
Vaughan)  had  loaned  a  considerable  amount  of 
money,  and  for  which  he  had  been  obliged  to  take 
the  property  of  the  firm.  Mr.  Vaughan  made  several 
unsuccessful  efforts  to  sell  the  property  so  acquired, 
and  at  length,  in  despair  of  getting  anything  out  of 
it,  suddenly  said  to  his  nephew,  one  morning :  "  Sam, 
how  would  you  like  to  be  a  mechanic?"  The  youth- 


13 

ful  clerk  responded,  "  Uncle,  I  am  willing  to  do  any- 
thing you  may  recommend ;"  and  behold  by  a  speedy 
transformation  the  clerk  .changed  into  a  machinist ! 
Mr.  Yaughan  immediately  formed  a  partnership  be- 
tween his  nephew  and  the  late  JOHN  AGXEW  ;  and 
the  firm  continued  for  many  years  in  existence,  with 
very  favorable  results.  But  Mr.  Merrick,  in  his  new 
vocation,  soon  found  that  he  was  not  a  mechanic, 
and  needed  information  and  instruction  to  make 
him  one. 

At  that  time  there  existed  in  Philadelphia  an 
association  of  mechanics,  which  met  at  short  inter- 
vals, for  the  consideration  of  mechanical  and  scien- 
tific subjects,  and  for  mutual  improvement  by  con- 
versation and  discussion.  Mr.  Merrick  sought  to 
become  a  member  of  this  body,  obtained  a  nomina- 
tion, but,  to  his  mortification  and  chagrin,  was  black- 
balled. He  was  in  almost  daily  intercourse  with  the 
gentleman  who  proposed  him  for  membership ;  and 
the  subject  of  his  rejection  was  freely  spoken  of. 
This  friend  was  the  late  WILLIAM  KNEASS,  of  Phila- 
delphia, then  a  copper-plate  engraver,  an  artist  of 
much  repute  and  merit  in  those  days ;  and  after- 
wards the  engraver  and  die-sinker  in  the  Mint  of 
the  United  States,  which  honorable  and  responsible 
office  he  filled  for  many  years.  In  one  of  these  con- 
ferences Mr.  Kneass  said,  jestingly :  "  Why  don't 
you  get  up  a  new  Institution  to  suit  yourself?"  Al- 
though this  was  said  in  jest,  our  young  friend  took 
it  to  heart,  thought  over  it,  and  finally  called  on 
Mr.  Kneass,  and  exacted  from  him  a  promise,  that 
he  would  attend  a  meeting  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
sidering such  a  project. 

Mr.  Merrick  accordingly  called  such  a  meeting,  to 
be  held  at  the  hall  of  the  American  Philosophical 


14 

Society ;  but  no  one  attended.  He  renewed  his  call 
for  another  meeting,  with  the  same  result;  and  then, 
having  called  on  Mr.  Kneass  to  remonstrate  with 
him  for  his  desertion,  that  gentleman  said:  "If  you 
are  really  in  earnest  about  this  matter,  I  will  tell 
you  who  will  help  you ;"  and  he  then  narrated  to 
him  the  history  of  an  abortive  attempt  made  some 
time  before  by  Professor  WILLIAM  H.  KEATING,  of 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  to  establish  an  in- 
stitution somewhat  like  that  which  had  been  con- 
ceived by  Mr.  Merrick. 

Professor  William  II.  Keating  was  the  other  of 
the  two  young  men  of  whom  I  have  just  spoken. 
He  had  received  a  thorough  liberal  education,  had 
graduated  with  honor  at  our  University,  and  then 
went  abroad  to  perfect  his  scientific  training  in  the 
polytechnic  and  mining  schools  of  France  and  Swit- 
zerland. 

He  returned  full  of  zeal  for  the  diffusion  of  science 
applied  to  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,  and 
the  Trustees  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  enter- 
ing cordially  into  his  views,  established  a  Professor- 
ship of  Chemistry,  in  its  application  to  Agriculture 
and  the  Mechanic  Arts,  and  elected  Mr.  Keating, 
then  just  arrived  at  manhood,  to  fill  the  honorable 
and  novel  position. 

On  the  subjects  of  his  Chair,  Professor  Keating 
delivered  several  courses  of  lectures,  and  opened  a 
laboratory  for  the  instruction  of  students,  in  the 
basement  of  the  old  University  building,  at  Ninth 
Street,  between  Chestnut  and  Market  Streets.  The 
house  had  been  built  as  a  residence  for  the  Presidents 
of  the  United  States,  by  the  State  of  Pennsylvania ; 
but,  not  being  needed  for  that  purpose,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  government  of 


15 

the  United  States  to  Washington  City,  it  was  sold 
to  the  University  by  the  State.  It  was  taken  down 
in  1829  to  give  place  to  the  two  College  Halls  which 
lately  stood  on  the  same  site ;  and  now  the  venerable 
institution,  in  which  this  start  in  applied  science 
was  first  made  in  our  country,  has  risen  in  greater 
glory  arid  usefulness,  in  West  Philadelphia. 

While  working  earnestly  in  the  sphere  to  which 
he  had  been  called,  Mr.  Keating  sought  to  interest 
his  friends  and  others  in  an  enlarged  scheme  for 
scientific  instruction;  and  he  also  had  called  meet- 
ings which  proved  abortive.  He  supposed  that  it 
was  practicable  to  get  the  fund  given  by  the  Will  of 
Christopher  Ludwig  (late  Baker-General  to  Gene- 
ral Washington),  for  the  support  of  a  Charity  School, 
transferred  to  an  institution  of  higher  aims  in  in- 
struction. And  especially  did  he  hope  for  this,  be- 
cause, by  the  public  school  system  then  recently 
established  in  Philadelphia,  the  establishment  and 
support  of  purely  charitable  schools  had  been  super- 
seded. But  in  this  praiseworthy  attempt  he  failed, 
and  he  and  Mr.  Merrick  were  both  stranded  in  their 
hopes.  And  now,  by  the  kind  intervention  of  Mr. 
Kneass,  these  two  ardent  men  were  brought  to- 
gether. Mr.  Kneass  gave  Mr.  Merrick  a  history  of 
Mr.  Keating's  efforts,  and  advised  him  to  call  and 
see  him.  This  Mr.  Merrick  speedily  did,  and,  intro- 
ducing himself,  the  kindred  spirits  went  earnestly  to 
work  in  concert.  They  compared  notes  ;  looked  into 
the  history  and  objects  of  the  Andersonian  Institution 
at  Glasgow ;  and  finally  agreed  to  make  another 
effort  to  get  a  meeting,  under  the  shadow  of  whose 
authority  they  might  make  an  appeal  to  the  public. 

Such   a  meeting  was  accordingly  convened,  and 


16 

tradition,  and  some  memoranda,  indicate  that  the 
following  gentlemen  attended:  SAMUEL  Y.  MERRICK, 
THOMAS  FLETCHER,  MATTHIAS  W.  BALDWIN,  DAVID 
H.  MASON,  and  ORAN  COLTON. 

A  committee  was  appointed,  consisting  of  some 
of  those  present,  and  of  others  selected  outside,  who 
were  supposed  to  he  willing  to  unite ;  and  James 
Roualdson,  Samuel  R.  Wood,  Samuel  Y.  Merrick, 
M.  T.  Wickham,  W.  H.  Keating,  Thomas  Fletcher, 
and  James  Rush  were  appointed  to  draught  a  plan 
of  organization,  constitution,  etc.  etc. 

The  preparation  of  these  details  was  confided  to 
Mr.  Merrick,  and  he  states  that,  when  he  presented 
them  to  Mr.  Wood,  he  said :  a  Thee  need  not  read 
them;  I  arn  perfectly  willing  to  adopt  them;  but 
thee  cannot  succeed  in  establishing  thy  Institute." 
Mr.  Wood  then  described  to  him  certain  professional 
jealousies  which  he  said  were  prevailing  in  the  city; 
and  if  either  side  joined  Mr.  Merrick  in  carrying 
out  his  plan,  it  would  be  sure  to  be  attacked  by  the 
other,  and  thus  inevitably  become  partisan  in  its 
character.  The  small  meeting  was  again  convened, 
the  plan  approved,  and  Messrs.  Merrick  and  Keat- 
ing, nothing  daunted,  prepared  to  carry  it  into  exe- 
cution. 

They  called  to  their  aid  Dr.  Robert  E.  Griffith, 
and  George  Washington  Smith,  Esq.,  who  happily 
still  survives  to  share  in  the  glory  of  this  anniver- 
sary. And  these  four  young  men,  taking  the  Phila- 
delphia Directory  in  their  hands,  selected  from  it 
the  names  of  some  1200  to  1600  citizens,  whom  they 
thought  might  possibly  take  an  interest  in  such  a 
work,  and  invited  them,  by  circular  letters,  to  attend 
a  meeting  to  be  held  at  the  county  court-house,  at 


17 

Sixth  and  Chestnut  Streets,  on  the  evening  of  the 
oth  of  February,  1824,  when  and  where  the  long 
cherished  project  was  to  be  submitted  for  final  ap- 
proval. 

I  must  here  pause  for  a  moment  to  make  a  brief 
comment  on  this  history  of  the  labors  of  the  real 
founders  of  the  Institute. 

In  the  year  1866,  Mr.  Merrick  placed  in  my  hands 
a  letter*  in  which  he  very  amply  records  his  own 
labors  in  the  good  work,  and  the  hearty  co-operation 
he  received  from  Professor  Keating.  As  the  time 
has  now  come  in  which  I  am  fully  justified  in  mak- 
ing that  letter  public,  I  shall  place  a  copy  of  it  at 
the  disposal  of  the  Institute  for  publication,  as  part 
of  the  proceedings  of  the  evening. 

Professor  Keating,  so  far  as  I  know,  never  pre- 
pared any  account  of  his  own  labors  in  the  great 
work,  and  he  has  left  it  to  tradition,  and  the  memory 
of  loving  friends,  to  give  him  his  proper  share  of 
honor. 

My  own  acquaintance  with  both  of  these  noble- 
hearted  and  generous  men  dates  from  about  the 
year  1823,  when  I  attended  the  lectures  of  Professor 
Keating  in  the  University,  and  when  I  was  asso- 
ciated with  Mr.  Merrick  as  a  member  of  the  Phila- 
delphia Hose  Company,  the  first  hose  company  that 
was  established  in  the  city,  and  whose  honorable 
record  for  many  years  was  the  pride  and  glory  of  its 
members. 

During  the  whole  of  the  remainder  of  their  lives, 
I  was  the  intimate  friend  of  both,  and  it  is  a  gratifi- 
cation to  me  of  the  purest  and  most  exalted  character, 
that  I  am  permitted  to  stand  here,  upon  this  occa- 

*  See  letter  at  close  of  this  article,  p.  39. 


18 

sion,  and  bear  my  hearty  testimony  to  their  worth 
and  virtues. 

"We  have  now  reached  the  time  when  the  public 
meeting  was  held.  The  citizens  responded  most  cor- 
dially to  the  call,  and  the  court-house  was  tilled  to 
overflowing. 

Mr.  JAMES  RONALDSON  (a  Scotchman  by  birth,  but 
an  American  in  every  fibre,  who  was  himself  engaged 
in  mechanical  pursuits,  originally  a  baker,  but  then 
a  type  founder,  doing  in  that  line  the  most  exten- 
sive business  in  the  United  States)  was  selected  to 
preside. 

PETER  A.  BROWNE,  Esq.,  then  an  eloquent  and  dis- 
tinguished member  of  the  Philadelphia  bar,  made 
an  earnest  and  effective  speech,  in  which  he  sketched 
the  plan  and  purposes  of  the  new  Institution,  and 
his  speech  was  warmly  applauded.  He  was  followed 
by  others  in  earnest  and  eloquent  remarks ;  a  letter 
was  read  from  NICHOLAS  BIDDLE,  Esq.,  then  in  the 
acme  of  his  reputation,  giving  his  approval  and  ten- 
dering membership  and  support. 

The  Constitution  was  submitted,  considered, 
amended,  and  then  unanimously  adopted. 

Lists  were  then  circulated,  on  which  those  present 
enrolled  themselves  for  membership. 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  nominate  candidates 
for  officers  and  managers,  and  to  take  the  needed 
order  for  holding  an  election  on  the  16th  of  the  same 
month.  At  this  meeting  I  enrolled  myself  as  a 
member,  although  not  quite  of  age,  and  have  con- 
tinued that  membership  to  this  day,  and  may  wTith 
truth  say  to  the  Institute,  that  "  nought  but  death 
shall  part  thee  and  me!" 


19 

By  the  time  the  election  was  held,  the  roll  con- 
tained between  400  and  500  members. 

Mr.  Ronaldson  was  elected  President,  and  held  the 
office  until  the  year  1842. 

The  Board  of  Managers  then  chosen,  of  whom,  of 
course,  Merrick  and  Keating  were  members,  went 
energetically  to  work,  and  soon  had  the  Institute 
thoroughly  organized. 

Standing  Committees  on  Instruction;  on  Inven- 
tions ;  on  Premiums  and  Exhibitions ;  on  the  Library ; 
and  on  Models  and  Minerals,  were  appointed,  and 
took  hold  of  their  duties  with  zeal  and  earnestness. 

Professorships  of  Chemistry  ;  of  Natural  Philo- 
sophy and  Mechanics  ;  and  of  Architecture,  were 
forthwith  established,  and  respectively  filled  by  the 
election  of  Professor  Keating  to  the  first,  Professor 
Robert  M.  Patterson  to  the  second,  and  William 
Strickland,  Esq.,  to  the  third. 

And  here  I  may  be  permitted  to  pause  and  say  a 
word  about  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  its 
ancient  and  continued  interest  in  and  aid  to  the 
Institute.  Profs.  Keating  and  Patterson  both  held 
chairs  in  that  Institution,  when  they  were  called  into 
our  service,  and  from  that  day  to  the  present  time 
our  relations  to  the  University  have  been  cordial 
and  complete,  for  of  her  gifted  Professors  we  have 
had,  in  addition  to  those  already  named,  Alex.  Dallas 
Bache,  John  F.  Frazer,  Henry  Reed,  and  Roswell 
Park,  and  from  her  Medical  Department,  Professors 
Hare,  James  Rogers,  and  Robert  E.  Rogers. 

The  first  course  of  lectures  was  delivered  in  the 
old  Academy  building,  on  Fourth,  near  Arch  Street, 
belonging  to  the  University  of  Pennsylvania ;  the  use 
of  the  building  being  granted  to  us  by  the  trustees. 


20 

In  addition  to  the  lectures  on  the  subjects  above 
named,  there  were  a  number  of  volunteer  lectures, 
delivered  by  members  of  the  Institute,  on  various 
subjects  connected  with  science  and  the  arts. 

The  foundations  thus  laid  for  instruction  were 
rapidly  enlarged,  and  to  those  like  myself,  who  have 
been  of  them  and  in  them  for  half  a  century,  their 
proportions  and  usefulness  have  been  really  wonder- 

fui. 

Soon  a  school,  in  which  should  be  taught  archi- 
tectural and  mechanical  drawing,  was  established, 
and  it  was  rapidly  filled  with  pupils.  Among  the 
earliest  of  these  was  my  friend,  who  is  now  sitting 
on  the  platform,  almost  as  venerable-looking  as  my- 
self, THOMAS  U.  WALTER,  Esq.,  then  a  young  brick- 
layer, but,  thanks  to  that  school,  afterwards  the  ac- 
complished and  successful  architect  of  the  Girard 
College,  then  Professor  of  Architecture  in  the  Insti- 
tute, and  finally  commending  himself  and  his  works 
to  posterity  as  the  architect  of  the  Capitol  at  Wash- 
ington. 

But,  not  content  with  this  •  special  school,  the 
Managers  determined  to  establish  another,  in  which 
all  the  useful  branches  of  English  Literature  and 
mathematics,  and  the  ancient  and  modern  lan- 
guages should  be  taught :  in  short,  a  high  school. 
This  was  placed  under  the  charge  of  WALTER  R. 
JOHNSON,  Esq.,  with  able  assistants,  and  was  soon 
filled  with  pupils.  The  Drawing  School  has  been 
very  successfully  continued  down  to  the  present  day, 
and  is  now  more  flourishing  than  ever  before,  but 
the  High  School  was  discontinued  after  a  few  years' 
time  upon  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Johnson.  By  this 
time  the  public  schools  of  the  city  had  been  much 


21 

improved  by  the  introduction  of  new  methods  of  in- 
struction, and  the  establishment  of  the  Central  High 
School  of  Philadelphia  supplied  all  the  needs  that  our 
High  School  was  intended  to  provide  for.  The  Depart- 
ment of  Instruction,  with  various  changes  and  en- 
largement of  the  features,  has  continued  in  successful 
operation  down  to  the  present  time.  Its  Professors 
of  Chemistry  have  been  W.  H.  Keating,  Franklin 
Bache,  John  K.  Mitchell,  and  John  F.  Frazer,  men 
who  were  remarkable  for  the  extent  of  their  knowl- 
edge, and  whose  names  are  identified  with  the  sci- 
entific reputation  of  our  city.  With  the  same  hon- 
orable and  enduring  notice  we  place  here  the  names 
of  our  Professors  of  Natural  Philosophy  and  Me- 
chanics, Robert  M.  Patterson,  Thomas  P.  Jones. 
Walter  E.  Johnson,  and  John  C.  Cresson.  My  space 
will  not  permit  me  to  name  all  their  successors,  who, 
taking  up  their  mantles,  have  won,  and  are  continu- 
ing to  win,  laurels  in  the  same  fields.  Nor  can  I  be- 
gin to  make  a  list  of  those  who  have  contributed  by 
valuable  lectures  to  fill  up  more  effectually  the  meas- 
ure of  useful  instruction  that  we  have  diffused.  But 
I  see  one  of  them  now  near  me,  the  venerable  Dr. 
Gouverneur  Emerson,  who  fully  forty  years  ago  de- 
livered a  course  on  meteorology — the  first  of  that 
character,  probably,  in  this  country,  and  who  since 
then  has  kept  up  his  interest  and  knowledge  of  that 
important  part  of  atmospheric  science,  and  has  lived 
to  witness,  in  the  establishment  of  the  Signal  Service 
Bureau  of  the  United  States,  the  recognition  and 
utility  of  the  infant  science  he  was  then  aiding  in 
ushering  into  life. 

The  Committee  on  Inventions  soon  became  a  cen- 
tre from  which  radiated  the  most  useful  and  interest- 


22 

ing  results.  The  late  ISAIAH  LUKENS,  a  distinguished 
mechanician,  was  for  many  years  its  chairman,  and, 
with  the  Professors  in  the  Institute,  and  such  asso- 
ciates as  Alexander  Dallas  Bache,  Benjamin  Reeves, 
Samuel  V.  Merrick,  Rufus  Tyler,  Matthias  W.  Bald- 
win, John  Agnew,  George  Washington  Smith,  John 
Wiegand,  and  others,  gave  wise  counsel  to  inventors, 
put  them  in  the  way  of  knowing  what  had  previ- 
ously been  accomplished,  saved  them  from  the  loss  of 
money  and  of  reputation,  by  showing  them  when 
their  inventions  were  not  new  ;  and  when  any  matter 
of  real  novelty  or  value  was  presented,  endorsing  it 
most  heartily  with  their  approval,  and  giving  that 
potential  aid  which  would  almost  certainly  secure 
public  recognition  and  reward. 

This  committee  continued  its  labors  as  originally 
constituted  for  many  years,  and  upon  its  suggestions 
committees  were  raised  for  investigating  the  various 
forms  of  water-wheels,  for  giving  economical  value 
to  water-power. 

On  this  subject,  experiments  of  great  number,  and 
on  almost  every  form  of  water  motor  then  known, 
were  made,  and  the  results  tabulated  and  commented 
on  in  such  an  exhaustive  manner  that  the  report 
continues  to  this  day  to  be  a  most  valuable  text- 
book on  water-power. 

Following  this,  and  in  the  same  lead  of  practical 
usefulness,  a  committee  was  raised  to  investigate  the 
causes  of  explosion  on  steam-boilers,  and  in  this  in- 
vestigation, the  Institute  succeeded  in  getting  the 
co-operation  of  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
an  appropriation  for  defraying  the  cost  of  the  expe- 
riments being  made  by  Congress.  But  no  part  of 
the  money  so  appropriated  was  paid  as  compensation 


23 

to  the  experimenters.  These  were  all  volunteers, 
devoting  many  months  of  valuable  time  to  the  inves- 
tigation, and  ascertaining  most  valuable  facts,  which 
have  since  been  utilized  for  the  benefit  and  safety  of 
the  public. 

Connected  with  these  experiments  on  explosions 
caused  by  steam,  came  almost  naturally  an  investi- 
gation of  the  strength  of  materials.  For  this  pur- 
pose, the  committee  devised  testing  apparatus  of 
various  forms,  and  applied  them  in  the  most  exten- 
sive and  crucial  way  to  the  metals,  and  materials  of 
all  kinds  used  in  machines,  steam-boilers,  buildings, 
and  other  branches  of  the  useful  arts.  The  reports 
on  explosions,  and  on  the  strength  of  materials,  were 
published  also,  and  are  of  equal  reputation  and  use 
as  those  on  water-power. 

The  Committee  on  Inventions  was  subsequently 
abolished,  and  in  its  place  was  established  the 
"  Committee  on  Science  and  Arts."  This  committee 
was  intended  to  cover  not  only  the  ground  originally 
occupied  by  the  Committee  on  Inventions,  but  to 
embrace  a  wider  field,  and  to  interest  in  its  operation 
a  larger  number  of  members.  Every  one,  therefore, 
who  felt  an  interest  in  developing  the  domains  of 
invention  or  science,  was  invited  to  enroll  himself  as 
a  member,  and  thereby  to  pledge  himself  to  devote 
his  time  and  knowledge  to  the  service  of  the  com- 
mittee, and  through  it  to  the  public.  This  volun- 
tary association  still  exists  ;  and  its  long  course  of 
labors  and  usefulness  is  attested  by  its  memoirs,  and 
by  the  vast  number  of  reports  made  on  inventions 
and  other  matters  submitted  to  its  scrutiny.  And 
this  seems  a  fitting  place  to  introduce  the  name  of 
one  of  the  most  illustrious  of  our  members,  Alexan- 


24 

der  Dallas  Bache.  He  was  the  great-grandson  of  the 
world-renowned  Dr.  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  ;  and  in 
many  traits  of  character  resembled  his  great  ances- 
tor. After  receiving  a  sufficient  preliminary  educa- 
tion to  fit  him  for  it,  he  was  appointed  a  Cadet  in 
the  Military  Academy  of  the  United  States  at  West 
Point,  and  graduated  there,  after  his  four  years' 
course,  with  distinguished  honor.  He  was  duly 
appointed  a  second-lieutenant  in  the  artillery  corps, 
and  placed  in  charge  of  the  construction  of  some  of 
the  forts  in  the  New  England  States.  A  vacancy 
having  occurred  in  the  Professorship  of  Chemistry 
and  Natural  Philosophy  in  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania, he  was  elected  to  the  chair,  and  removed 
to  Philadelphia.  He  soon  joined  the  Institute, 
and  became  one  of  its  most  prominent  and  useful 
members.  Hs  served  on  the  Committees  of  Instruc- 
tion, Inventions,  Publications,  and  Exhibitions.  His 
knowledge  was  great,  and  his  aptitude  for  applying 
it  wonderful. 

He  became,  as  it  were,  a  centre  around  which 
every  department  of  the  Institute  could  revolve^ 
and,  like  that  other  great  centre,  the  sun,  he  had  the 
faculty  of  controlling,  and  keeping  in  harmony  and 
efficient  working  order,  all  who  came  within  his  in- 
fluence. 

To  him,  the  investigations  on  water-power,  ex- 
plosions of  steam,  and  strength  of  materials,  owe 
much  of  their  value.  He  supervised  the  reduction 
of  the  results  of  experiments,  tabulated  them,  and 
mainly  prepared  the  reports. 

To  his  efforts  the  organization  of  the  Committee 
on  Science  was  mainly  due.  He  presided  over  it  for 
many  years,  and  by  his  skill  and  wisdom  in  selecting 


25 

its  sub-committees,  rendered  it  useful  and  powerful. 
After  a  long  service  with  us,  and  with  the  University, 
and  after  having  laid  the  foundations  for  instruction 
in  the  Girard  College  for  Orphans,  and  for  the  Cen- 
tral High  School,  he  left  us  to  accept  the  appoint- 
ment of  Superintendent  of  the  Coast  Survey  of  the 
United  States.  In  this  new  Held  of  labor  and  useful- 
ness he  was  the  same  patient,  devoted,  and  successful 
worker,  and  brought  that  great  national  work  up 
to  a  state  of  accuracy  and  comprehensiveness  that 
has  challenged  the  admiration  of  the  world.  Until 
death,  he  was  the  warm  friend  and  earnest  advo- 
cate of  the  Institute.  He  was  my  early  schoolmate ; 
the  affectionate  friend  and  associate  of  my  manhood  ; 
and  his  virtues  and  worth  are  among  the  most  pre- 
cious of  my  memories. 

One  of  the  methods  adopted  by  the  Institute  for 
the  promotion  of  the  mechanic  arts  was  to  reward 
inventors,  manufacturers,  and  mechanics,  by  the  dis- 
tribution of  medals  and  premiums.  To  this  end,  the 
Committee  on  Premiums  and  Exhibitions  was  ap- 
pointed. 

It  very  soon  announced  that  an  Exhibition  of 
American  Manufactures  would  be  held  in  the  city 
of  Philadelphia,  and  published  a  long  list  of  pre- 
miums that  would  then  be  awarded.  A  very  exten- 
sive circulation  of  this  intention  was  given  by  letters 
addressed  to  those  whose  interests  would  be  promoted 
by  the  Exhibition,  and  also  by  advertisements  to 
direct  public  attention  to  the  undertaking.  It  was 
held  in  the  Carpenters'  Hall,  in  Philadelphia,  in  the 
autumn  of  1824,  and  was  crowned  with  complete 
success.  It  attracted  large  crowds  of  people,  who 
hitherto  had  had  no  conception  of  the  extent  and 
3 


26 

variety  of  our  home  productions,  and  reacted  in 
many  curious  and  unexpected  ways  to  bring  pro- 
ducers and  consumers  together,  and  to  diffuse  a 
knowledge  of  our  domestic  skill  and  resources.  These 
Exhibitions  were  continued  at  short  intervals  for 
many  years,  and  grew  in  public  favor  and  usefulness; 
but  were  suspended  a  few  years  ago  in  consequence 
of  an  inability  to  get  a  hall  of  sufficient  size  for  a 
proper  display.  It  would  be  impossible  to  estimate 
the  value  of  these  Exhibitions,  for  it  is  only  those 
who,  from  year  to  year,  watched  the  progress  of  manu- 
factures in  the  United  States,  as  their  products  were 
brought  together  in  friendly  competition  on  our 
tables,  that  can  realize  the  astonishing  developments 
of  our  industry  which  have  marked  the  half  century 
now  closed.  The  Institute,  having  secured,  for  an  Ex- 
hibition to  be  held  in  the  autumn  of  the  present  year, 
by  the  liberality  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Com- 
pany, a  building  of  ample  size,  and  in  a  most  favor- 
able location,  will  resume  this  well-tried  part  of  its 
system  of  operations,  and  in  the  coming  display,  lay 
the  groundwork,  and  stimulate  preparation  for  the 
great  Centennial  International  Exhibition,  which  in 
1876  is  to  commemorate  the  hundredth  anniversary 
of  our  existence  as  a  nation. 

"Without  a  library,  the  Institute  would  have  been 
but  half  armed  ;  and  soon,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
committee  charged  with  attention  to  that  feature  of 
the  Institution,  books  began  to  take  their  places  on 
our  shelves,  to  accumulate,  to  be  used,  and  gradually 
to  assume  the  numbers  and  variety  which  now  cha- 
racterize our  large  and  valuable  collection. 

In  natural  connection  with  the  library  comes  the 
Journal.  At  the  outset,  the  pecuniary  means  of 


27 

the  Institute  were  too  limited  to  permit  it  to  venture 
alone  on  such  a  publication.  But  an  arrangement 
was  made  with  THOMAS  P.  JOXES,  Esq.,  then  Pro- 
fessor of  Xatural  Philosophy  and  Mechanics,  to  edit 
and  publish  a  periodical  devoted  to  science  and  the 
arts,  under  the  title  of  the  Franklin  Journal.  In 
this  form,  and  with  limited  aid  from  our  treasury, 
the  publication  was  continued  until  1828,  when  the 
Institute  assumed  the  responsibility  of  continuing 
it,  under  the  title  of  The  Journal  of  the  Franklin 
Institute  ;  and  so  it  has  continued  to  this  time. 

Of  the  great  value  of  the  Journal,  in  diffusing 
information  of  varied  character,  on  subjects  of 
science  and  the  arts,  you,  who  have  had  the  best 
opportunities  for  judging,  can  make  a  proper  esti- 
mate. I  will  only  say  that,  to  have  stood  the  tests 
of  competition,  active  and  extensive  as  they  have 
been,  furnishes  pretty  strong  proof  that  it  has  been 
well  and  ably  managed  ;  and  although  its  balance 
sheets  do  not  show  an  absolute  profit  in  money, 
the  results  of  its  exchanges  are  on  your  bookshelves, 
and  are  of  far  more  worth  than  mere  money. 

And  now  let  us  stop  for  a  moment  to  pay  a  passing 
tribute  to  the  memory  and  worth  of  an  old  officer  of 
the  Institute,  to  whom  the  Journal  was  as  the  apple 
of  his  eye. 

You  all  recollect  WILLIAM  HAMILTON,  for  nearly 
half  a  century  our  loved  and  trusted  Actuary.  He 
went  in  and  out  before  us  for  this  long  period,  the 
very  embodiment  of  our  Franklin  Institute.  I  be- 
came a  member  of  the  Board  of  Managers  just  after 
his  election  in  the  year  1828. 

With  the  exception  of  a  few  years  I  have  been 
Treasurer  or  Secretary  during  his  whole  term,  and 


28 

these  offices  brought  me  into  almost  daily  intercourse 
with  Mr.  Hamilton.  And  I  may  truly  say  that  I 
have  often  marvelled  at  the  devotion  which  charac- 
terized him  in  our  service.  The  interests  of  the 
Institute  seemed  to  be  the  blood  that  circulated  in 
his  arteries  and  the  marrow  of  his  bones. 

Rarely  affected  by  illness,  he  was  always  at  his 
post ;  he  knew  every  detail  of  our  working  move- 
ments :  he  was  ready  to  produce  book,  report,  ac- 
count, or  model,  at  any  call ;  he  seemed  to  know 
every  member ;  he  maintained  his  good  temper  and 
courtesy  when  often  sorely  tried ;  and,  by  his  kind- 
heartedness  and  good  management,  kept  many  from 
straying  from  our  fold.  He  was  scrupulously  honest 
and  trustworthy ;  and  all  his  thoughts  and  actions 
were  regulated  and  controlled  by  a  simple  religious 
and  conscientious  spirit.  No  one  who  knew  him 
thoroughly  could  fail  to  love  and  honor  him. 

He  seemed,  at  his  fourscore  years,  to  have  scarcely 
lost  the  vigor  and  elasticity  of  his  manhood ;  and, 
within  a  week  of  his  death,  he  was  discharging 
every  duty  of  his  office  as  carefully  and  with  as 
much  love  and  interest  as  ever.  He  was  a  loving 
and  faithful  servant ;  and  deserves  our  gratitude 
and  enduring  remembrance. 

The  editors  of  the  Journal  have  been  Thomas  P. 
Jones,  A.  D.  Bache,  Charles  B.  Trego,  John  F. 
Frazer,  Henry  Morton,  and  William  II.  Wahl ;  and 
as  this  sketch  is  going  through  the  press,  Professor 
George  F.  Barker  of  the  University  has  assumed 
that  duty. 

Among  the  early  committees  we  find  that  on 
Models  and  Minerals,  and,  thanks  to  its  labors,  we 
have  quite  a  respectable  collection  of  both  ;  and  had 


29 
• 

we  space  for  more,  the  contributions  of  willing  in- 
ventors and  friends  would  no  doubt  be  large.  In 
our  collection  are  to  be  found  some  curious  and 
interesting  specimens  of  ingenuity.  One  of  these  is 
the  mode.1  of  a  machine  for  producing  perpetual 
motion. 

This  is  the  work  of  Isaiah  Lukens,  before  men- 
tioned as  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Inventions. 
He  was  also  one  of  the  early  Yice-Presidents.  Some 
of  the  older  of  my  audience  will  recollect  the  excite- 
ment caused  by  the  announcement  that  a  Mr.  Red- 
heffer had  discovered  the  perpetual  motion.  Mr. 
Lukens  visited  the  place  of  the  exhibition  of  Red- 
heffer's  machine,  and,  after  a  brief  examination,  dis- 
covered the  trick.  Returning  to  his  workshop  he 
immediately  constructed  a  machine  in  imitation  of 
Redheffer's,  but  with. the  motor  concealed  in  a 
different  way.  He  then  sent  for  Redheffer,  informed 
him  that  he  had  discovered  his  trick  and  fraud,  told 
him  that  the  machine  before  him  was  also  a  fraud, 
arid  challenged  him  to  point  it  out,  which  Redheffer 
ineffectually  tried  to  do,  and  gave  up  in  despair. 

But  the  labors  and  services  of  the  Institute  were 
not  bounded  by  what  we  have  been  describing.  The 
lectures  of  Mr.  JAMES  P.  ESPY,  and  his  essays  on 
meteorology,  and  the  theories  adverse  thereto  of 
Redfield  and  others,  caused  a  large  share  of  public 
attention  to  be  directed  to  that  subject.  Dr.  Emer- 
son had  awakened  our  members  many  years  before 
to  its  importance ;  and  the  Legislature  of  Pennsyl- 
vania made  a  liberal  appropriation  for  the  purchase 
of  instruments,  and  for  the  collection  of  facts  by 
observers  in  all  parts  of  the  State. 

The  purchase  of  instruments,  the  organization  of 


30 

the  corps  of  observers,  and  the  tabulation  and  publi- 
cation of  the  results,  and  the  whole  expenditure  of 
the  appropriation,  were  placed  in  charge  of  the  Insti- 
tute. The  fund  was  carefully  managed,  and  for  a 
number  of  years  monthly  tables  of  the  observations 
were  published  in  the  Journal.  Subsequently,  the 
Institute  was  requested  by  the  State  Legislature  to 
examine  and  report  upon  our  system  of  weights 
and  measures.  A  special  committee  was  called, 
which  thoroughly  went  through  the  work,  and, 
upon  its  report,  the  law  was  enacted  which  is  now 
in  force  for  the  commonwealth. 

The  general  interest  created  by  the  existence  and 
working  of  the  Institute  caused  more  attention  to 
be  paid  to  technology  and  to  science  generally ; 
and  gave  rise  to  a  movement  for  the  establishment 
of  a  school  of  arts  in  the  year  1837.  The  Institute 
headed  this  movement,  and  applied  to  the  councils 
of  the  city  for  a  grant  of  a  large  plot  of  ground  in 
West  Philadelphia  as  a  site  for  the  buildings  of  the 
proposed  school. 

This  was  promptly  and  cheerfully  granted,  and 
the  Legislature  was  appealed  to  by  memorials  from 
all  parts  of  the  State,  to  endow  the  school  by  a 
liberal  appropriation.  The  House  of  Representatives 
passed  the  bill  for  this  purpose,  but  immediately 
reconsidered  its  action,  the  members  seeming  to  be 
alarmed  at  their  own  courage  in  venturing  so  far 
out  of  the  old  paths. 

It  was  well  understood,  then,  that  if  the  bill  had 
reached  the  Senate  it  would  have  been  promptly 
passed ;  and  Governor  Ritner  had  promised  to  give 
it  his  approval.  The  seed  then  planted  was  watched 
with  care,  and  efforts  were  often  made  to  resuscitate 


31 

the  enterprise.  It  was  finally  taken  up  by  the  trus- 
tees of  the  University,  among  whom  are  to  be  found 
now  a  number  of  the  active  members  of  the  Insti- 
tute ;  and,  by  the  cordial  concurrence  and  aid  of  Dr. 
Charles  J.  Stille,  the  Provost,  the  Department  of 
Science  was  established  in  the  University  on  a  most 
comprehensive  basis,  and  is  now  in  successful  opera- 
tion. Thus  it  has  been  that  the  philanthropic  efforts 
of  Merrick  and  Keating  to  start  our  Institute  were 
crowned  with  such  complete  success. 

As  I  have  before  stated,  the  first  course  of  lectures 
was  delivered  in  the  old  Academy  Building  on 
Fourth  Street.  The  Institute  very  soon  rented  the 
lower  story  of  the  Old  Carpenter's  Hall,  in  the  rear 
of  Chestnut  Street,  east  of  Fourth  Street,  a  place 
rendered  memorable  and  almost  sacred  by  the 
sessions  of  the  first  Continental  Congress. 

By  this  time  we  felt  so  sure  of  our  hold  on  the 
public,  that  we  determined  to  build  a  hall,  and,  to 
carry  out  this  intention,  a  purchase  was  made  of  the 
lot  on  Seventh  Street  between  Market  and  Chestnut 
Streets. 

The  corner-stone  was  laid  with  appropriate  Masonic 
and  other  ceremonies,  on  the  eighth  day  of  June, 
1825,  at  noon,  and  the  edifice  w,as  erected  by  con- 
tract, from  plans  and  estimates  furnished  by  John 
Haviland,  Esq.,  the  architect.  We  were  obliged  to 
have  an  eye  to  revenue  from  the  building,  and  to  aid 
us  in  that,  then  important  matter,  an  agreement  was 
made  with  the  United  States,  that  we  would  arrange 
and  finish  the  second  story  so  that  it  might  be  occu- 
pied as  a  court-room,  and  offices  for  the  Circuit  and 
District  Courts.  When  the  building  was  completed, 
a  lease  was  accordingly  made  for  a  term  of  years  at 


32 

$1500  per  annum.  But  after  a  short  occupancy,  this 
lease  was  cancelled,  as  it  was  found  to  be  incon- 
venient for  members  of  the  bar  to  be  so  far  from  the 
county  court-house  at  Sixth  and  Chestnut  Streets. 
The  United  States  then  agreed  to  give  up  the 
premises,  and  to  pay  $900  per  annum  for  the  re- 
mainder of  the  term,  and  the  city  rented  them  the 
second  story  of  Independence  Hall. 

The  building  was  completed,  and  we  entered  into 
the  Occupancy  of  all  except  the  second  story  in  1826, 
and  then  began  to  feel  that  wre  had  got  out  of  our 
"  long  clothes." 

On  the  cancellation  of  the  lease  to  the  United 
States,  we  obtained  possession  of  the  whole  build- 
ing ;  and  therein,  all  the  manifold  labors  of  the  In- 
stitute have  been  conceived  and  carried  into  execu- 
tion. 

This  dear  old  hall  is  associated  with  so  many 
pleasant  and  useful  memories,  that  whenever  re- 
moval to  a  new  building  has  been  agitated,  it  has 
given  rise  to  strong  emotions. 

But  it  has  so  happened  that  the  intention  of  re- 
moval has  several  times  been  seriously  considered. 
It  very  nearly  culminated  in  the  year  1836,  when 
the  Masonic  Hall  property  on  Chestnut  Street  west 
of  Seventh  Street  was  purchased  by  the  Institute  for 
the  sum  of  $110,500. 

Plans  for  a  new  and  enlarged  hall  were  prepared 
by  William  Strickland,  Esq.,  architect,  aided  by  a 
committee  of  the  Institute.  A  plan  for  a  building 
loan  was  adopted,  and  a  part  of  it  subscribed  for, 
which  enabled  the  Institute  to  pay  the  first  instal- 
ment of  the  purchase- money.  But  the  great  finan- 
cial crash  of  May,  1837,  struck  our  project  down, 


33 

and  after  vainly  struggling  for  several  years  to  carry 
it  out,  we  had  at  last  to  surrender  it,  and  at  a  fear- 
ful loss  of  many  thousands  of  dollars.  At  different 
times  since,  projects  of  removal  have  been  started, 
but  grown  wise  by  the  experience  of  1837,  we  have 
not  been  again  tempted  into  any  uncertain  contracts. 
The  old  hall  has  been  modified  and  improved  in 
its  interior;  and,  although  small  and  inconvenient 
in  some  respects  for  our  present  wants,  will  not 
hastily  be  abandoned. 

Mr.  James  Ronaldson  served  as  President  until 
January,  1842,  when  he  resigned ;  but  he  maintained 
his  interest  in  the  Institution  until  he  died,  and 
gave  it  by  his  will  a  legacy  of  five  hundred  dollars. 

He  was  succeeded  by  Samuel  V.  Merrick,  the  ac- 
knowledged Founder  of  the  Institute,  and  the  man 
above  all  others  who  impressed  on  it  at  the  beginning, 
nearly  all  of  its  practical  features,  as  Keating  did 
those  for  its  science. 

Mr.  Merrick  held  the  office  of  President  until 
January,  1855,  when  he  resigned. 

But  his  resignation  of  office  did  not  sever  him 
from  active  duty.  As  in  the  beginning,  so  through- 
out his  whole  life,  every  faculty  he  enjoyed,  every 
hour  that  was  needful  for  its  service,  time,  talents, 
and  money,  were  always  ready  for  the  Institute. 
And  if  asked  to  point  "out  his  monument,  standing 
in  our  hall,  we  should  reply  "  Circumspice" 

Mr.  Merrick  was  succeeded  in  the  Presidency  by 
John  C.  Cresson.  My  relations  to  Mr.  Cresson  make 
it  difficult  for  me  to  speak  of  his  merits  and  services. 
He  was  elected  a  member  in  1834.  He  had  early  in 
life  chosen  agriculture  for  a  profession,  and,  in  pre- 
paring for  it,  after  receiving  a  good  classical  educa- 


34 

tion,  he  paid  considerable  attention  to  the  study  of 
chemistry,  natural  philosophy,  and  mechanics.  He 
attended  the  lectures  of  Professor  Keating  in  the 
University  in  1823.  Very  soon  after  his  election  as 
a  member,  he  relinquished  his  agricultural  pursuits, 
and  engaged  in  commercial  business  in  the  city.  He 
became  an  active  and  useful  member  of  our  import- 
ant committees. 

Shortly  after  the  Philadelphia  gas-works  were 
built,  under  the  charge  of  Mr.  Merrick,  as  engineer; 
Mr.  Cresson  was  appointed  superintendent  of  the 
works,  and  subsequently  engineer.  He  gave  such 
evidence  of  his  thorough  knowledge  of  natural  phi- 
losophy and  mechanics  that  he  was  elected  Professor 
in  1837,  and  held  that  office  for  several  years. 

On  the  resignation  of  Professor  Bache  as  Chair- 
man of  the  Committee  on  Science  and  the  Arts, 
Professor  Cresson  was  elected  its  chairman,  and  still 
holds  that  place.  As  the  worthy  coadjutor,  friend, 
and  associate  of  Merrick,  Keating,  Bache,  and  the 
other  active  members  of  the  Institute,  he  was  con- 
sidered the  fittest  man  to  succeed  Mr.  Merrick.  His 
able  administration  was  universally  recognized,  and 
he  occupies  a  high  and  honorable  place  in  our  records 
and  history. 

He  declined  a  re-election  in  1864,  and  WILLIAM 
SELLERS,  Esq.,  was  chosen  his  successor. 

Under  the  administration  of  this  estimable  and 
distinguished  mechanical  engineer  a  new  impulse 
was  given  to  the  career  of  the  Institute.  The  plan 
of  organization  was  modified,  and  a  large  sum  was 
raised  by  Mr.  Sellers  and  his  friends  to  reduce  the 
debt,  to  repair  and  alter  the  hall,  and  to  bring  the 
Institution  into  more  effectual  contact  with  manu- 


35 

facturers  and  mechanics.  Professor  HENRY  MORTON, 
who  was  winning  an  enviable  reputation  as  a  physi- 
cist and  lecturer,  was  chosen  Secretary ;  and  with  a 
liberal  salary  and  enlarged  powers  was  made  its  chief 
executive  officer.  He  was  also  entrusted  with  the 
editorship  of  the  Journal,  and,  until  his  election  as 
President  of  the  "Stevens  Institute,"  devoted  his 
rare  abilities  to  our  service.  It  is  with  great  pleasure 
that  I  see  him  here  on  this  occasion,  to  unite  with  us 
in  proclaiming  the  advantages  of  such  institutions. 

One  of  the  principal  changes  made  by  the  advice 
of  Mr.  Sellers  and  his  friends  was  to  have  the  whole 
of  our  property  represented  by  stock,  the  shares  of 
which  could  be  purchased  at  a  moderate  price,  and 
giving  the  privileges  of  membership  transferable  for 
the  benefit  of  heirs  or  purchasers.  The  introduction 
of  these  new  elements  of  strength  was  hailed  with 
much  pleasure  by  those  who  had  held  offices  for  so 
many  years.  Death  had  diminished  the  number  of 
the  old  associates,  and  age  and  physical  infirmity 
were  depriving  them  of  their  ancient  ardor  and  zeal. 
But  they  were  still  ready,  with  their  old  attach- 
ment, to  aid  with  their  counsel  and  presence  these 
new  and  active  workers ;  and  the  Institute  was 
strengthened  and  benefited  by  the  combination  of 
such  elements. 

Mr.  Sellers  declined  a  re-election  in  1868,  and  was 
succeeded  by  JOHN  YAUGHAN  MERRICK,  Esq.,  the 
eldest  son  of  the  distinguished  Founder.  He  in- 
herited all  the  interest  so  long  held  by  his  father, 
and  energetically  carried  out  the  new  and  enlarged 
policy. 

He  declined  a  re-election  in  January,  1870,  and 
was  succeeded  by  COLEMAN  SELLERS,  Esq.,  who  now 


36 

holds  the  office,  and  is  ably  and  faithfully  discharg- 
ing its  duties. 

He  is  also  by  profession  a  mechanical  engineer, 
and  has  won,  by  his  ingenuity  and  skill,  an  honor- 
able name  in  his  profession. 

In  making  up  this  record  of  our  Presidents,  it  is  a 
remarkable  fact  that  they  have  all  been  characterized 
by  the  possession  of  rare  gifts  of  administration  and 
of  public  confidence. 

JOHN  SCOTT,  a  chemist  of  Edinburgh,  gave  by  his 
will  to  the  corporation  of  the  city  .of  Philadelphia 
a  legacy  for  the  establishment  of  a  premium,  to  be 
given  by  a  medal  and  money  to  the  inventors  of 
anything  new  or  useful.  In  the  year  1834,  the  city 
councils  placed  the  awarding  of  the  Scott's  Legacy 
Medal  and  Premium  in  the  hands  of  the  Institute, 
and  it  has  so  faithfully  and  carefully  discharged  that 
duty  that  its  stewardship  still  continues. 

In  the  year  1848,  the  late  ELLIOTT  CRESSON,  Esq., 
placed  in  the  charge  of  trustees  a  sufficient  sum  of 
money  to  provide  a  gold  medal,  which  was  to  be 
awarded  by  the  Institute  to  the  inventor  of  any 
new  or  useful  discovery.  As  this  premium  is  to  be 
given  only  for  matters  of  real  novelty  and  merit,  it 
is,  of  course,  rarely  issued.  The  first  recipient  of  it 
was  Gen.  Benjamin  C.  Tilghrnan,  Esq.,  of  Philadel- 
phia, the  discoverer  of  the  application  of  the  sand 
blast,  for  a  variety  of  useful  and  ornamental  pur- 
poses. 

And  in  1859,. URIAH  A.  BOYDEN,  of  Boston,  Mass., 
placed  in  charge  of  the  Institute  the  sum  of  one 
thousand  dollars,  to  be  awarded  to  "  any  resident 
of  North  America  who  shall  determine  by  experi- 
ment whether  all  rays  of  light,  and  other  physical 


37 

rays,  are  or  are  not  transmitted  with  the  same 
velocity."  The  claim  to  be  made  in  the  form  of  an 
essay,  announcing  the  result  and  its  manner  of 
ascertainment,  to  be  presented  before  the  first  day  of 
January,  1873. 

The  awarding  of  this  premium  was  placed  in  the 
hands  of  a  committee. 

Several  essays  were  received,  but  no  one  of  them 
was  considered  of  sufficient  merit  to  entitle  k  to  the 
prize. 

Mr.  Boyden  has  generously  allowed  the  premium 
to  remain  with  the  Institute,  in  the  hope  that  it  may 
be  earned  by  some  worthy  mathematician. 

Having  now  brought  this  historical  sketch  clown 
to  the  present  time,  we  may  be  permitted  to  linger 
a  little  while  over  our  personal  experiences,  and  to 
bear  our  testimony  to  the  many  advantages  we  have 
enjoyed  from  our  connection  with  the  Institute. 
Speaking  for  myself,  I  may  say,  most  truly,  that  it 
has  been  to  me  my  school  of  schools.  As  an  original 
member,  and  then  a  very  young  man,  I  was  imme- 
diately associated  with  the  founders,  and  with  those 
older  and  accomplished  men  who  had  joined  with 
them.  Together  we  walked  for  over  forty  years, 
not  in  the  wilderness  but  by  pleasant  paths,  study- 
ing by  the  way  all  that  was  new  and  useful  in 
science  and  the  arts,  and  accumulating  priceless 
treasures  of  knowledge. 

My  friend,  Professor  Robert  E.  Rogers,  is  about 
to  follow  me  with  the  wonderful  record  of  the  .pro- 
gress of  science  in  the  last  half  century.  Modern 
physical  science  has  been  made  within  that  time, 
and,  as  each  brilliant  discovery  was  announced  in 
chemistry,  physics,  or  mechanics,  it  was  brought 
into  our  field  in  the  hall  of  the  Institute,  and  the 


38 

band  of  brothers  there  assembled  lovingly  together 
made  themselves,  in  their  respective  walks,  masters 
of  the  new  discoveries;  and  in  not  a  few  instances 
enlarged  and  perfected  their  applications.  I  am 
thankful  that  for  the  half  century  I  have  been  an 
active  member  of  the  Institute,  I  owe  to  its  teach- 
ings and  their  influence  on  my  mind  very  much  of 
the  knowledge  and  information  that  have  given  any 
useful  influence  to  my  life  ;  and  my  earnest  prayer 
for  the  young  members  of  it  is,  that  they  shall  de- 
rive as  much  advantage  from  its  teachings  as  I  have 
realized.  I  see  around  me  here  to-night  some  of  the 
original  members,  and  others  who  were  speedily 
enrolled. 

As  I  entered  this  hall,  I  was  greeted  by  one  of 
the  original  members,  Mr.  GEORGE  S.  LANG,  with 
vivid  reminders  of  our  first  meeting  at  the  county 
court-house  in  February  1824.  Here  also  I  see  on 
this  platform  the  venerable  forms  of  my  friends, 
Henry  C.  Carey,  David  S.  Brown,  Gouverneur  Emer- 
son, Thomas  U.  Walter,  and  Hector  Orr,  earty  and 
earnest  laborers  in  the  fields  I  have  been  describing. 

The  numbers  of  the  Old  Guard  are  gradually 
diminishing,  but  the  golden  cord  that  has  bound  us 
together  so  long  still  encircles  the  survivors.  Of  the 
illustrious  dead,  how  shall  I  venture  to  make  up  the 
record?  Merrick,  Keating,  Patterson,  Strickland, 
Bache,  Peale,  Frazer,  Lukens,  Baldwin,  Tyler,  were 
chiefs  on  the  roll  of  the  departed. 

George  Washington  Smith,  Carey,  Emerson,  Cres- 
son,  Wiegand,  Booth,  Roberts,  Trego,  still  survive, 
with  their  love  for  the  Institute  undiminished  by  age. 
Did  space  permit,  I  might  swell  to  a  large  extent 
this  list  of  devoted  men;  but  I  content  myself  with 
the  types  I  have  selected,  and  say  in  all  sincerity,  of 


39 

those  not  named,  that  the  working  force  of  the  In- 
stitute was  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  such  chiefs. 

I  now  close  my  attempt  to  place  before  you  a  his- 
tory of  the  Institute. 

It  has  honorably  lived  for  half  a  century;  it  is 
again  endowed  with  the  invigoration  of  youth  and 
earnestness;  it  has  all  the  experience  of  the  past  in 
its  treasure  house ;  it  has  all  the  bright  promise  of 
the  future  for  its  encouragement. 

As  we  now  rejoice  over  what  we  have  accom- 
plished, so  may  those  who  come  after  us  celebrate 
with  even  more  fervor  its  CENTENNIAL.  And,  when 
the  hundred  years  are  ended,  may  new  hands  keep 
our  banner  up,  waving,  in  glorious  pride,  over  new 
victories  won  for  the  benefit  and  improvement  of 
mankind,  and  cheer  the  old  Institute  onward,  with 
the  well-earned  cry  of  Esto  Perpetua  ! 


LETTER  OF  MR.  MERRICK  TO  MR.  FRALEY. 

PHILAD.,  11  Sept.  1866. 
DEAR  FRALEY — 

Reflecting  upon  our  little  talk  on  old  times  this  morning,  I  have 
concluded  that  justice  to  myself  and  other  friends  connected  with 
the  early  history  of  the  Franklin  Institute,  calls  for  such  informa- 
tion as  you  seem  to  need  in  relation  to  its  origin.  In  this  I  may 
subject  myself  to  a  charge  of  egotism  ;  but  I  think  you  know  me 
well  enough  to  acquit  me  of  any  intentional  wrong  to  any  one. 

I  look  back  on  the  incipiency  of  that  Institution,  feeling  that 
if  I  had  done  nothing  else  in  my  life,  I  should  have  something  to 
be  proud  of  in  the  part  I  took  in  its  founding. 

You  know  that  I  was  reared  in  a  counting-house,  and  destined 
to  a  mercantile  life. 

Circumstances  which  need  not  be  detailed  changed  its  objects  ; 
and  at  an  age  before  maturity  I  found  myself  an  owner  of  a 
workshop,  without  a  mechanical  education  and  with  scarcely  a 
mechanical  idea. 


40 

On  contemplating  the  position  thus  assumed  I  was  made  aware 
of  two  facts:  that  without  knowledge  I  could  not  succeed,  while 
it  was  too  late  again  ^to  go  to  school ;  and,  secondly,  that  as  a  me- 
chanic I  was  socially  degraded,  for  in  those  days,  as  people  des- 
pised mere  mechanics,  my  own  position  shared  that  of  my  class. 

There  existed  at  that  time  a  society  of  mechanics  who  statedly 
met  for  discussion  and  mutual  improvement,  into  which  I  desired 
admission  for  the  same  object.  Being  proposed,  I  was  black- 
balled under  the  influence  of  personal  ill-will  entertained  by  a 
prominent  member. 

Well  acquainted  with  Mr.  Win.  H.  Kneass,  engraver,  who 
occupied  a  shop  in  Fourth  St.,  in  my  daily  work  I  frequently 
called  for  friendly  chat.  Mr.  K.  had  proposed  me  to  the  Asso- 
ciation, and  was  much  annoyed  at  the  issue  of  the  vote. 

Discussing  the  matter  with  him  one  day  with  no  very  pleasant 
feelings,  he  jestingly  asked  me  why  I  did  not  start  a  new  society 
having  a  wider  field  of  usefulness. 

I  was  very  young  and  had  but  a  limited  acquaintance  ;  yet 
after  a  night's  reflection  I  determined  to  act  on  his  suggestion, 
though  I  knew  he  was  not  serious. 

With  this  view  I  called  a  meeting  at  the  Philosophical  Hall  of 
some  fifteen  or  twenty  gentlemen  who  I  supposed  would  take  an 
interest  in  so  useful  a  movement.  The  night  of  meeting  came, 
and  no  one  responded  to  the  call. 

After  talking  the  matter  over  the  next  day  with  several  who 
professed  an  interest  in  the  project,  I  called  a  second  meeting, 
with  a  similar  result. 

A  further  conference  with  Mr.  Kneass  was  the  consequence  of 
the  second  failure  ;  to  whom  I  complained  that  he  had  not  kept 
his  appointment.  He  then  said  seriously  that  he  thought  I  was 
wasting  my  time.  That  it  was  impossible  to  unite  the  mechanics 
of  Philadelphia  in  such  an  enterprise,  and  I  had  better  abandon 
the  idea.  I  replied  that  I  had  a  better  opinion  of  the  public 
spirit  of  Philadelphia,  and  that  I  was  determined  to  succeed. 

He  replied  that  as  I  was  bent  on  going  forward,  he  would  tell 
me  where  I  was  likely  to  get  help.  He  then  gave  me  an  account 
of  the  above  abortive  movement  in  the  same  direction  which  had 
been  made  the  year  before  ;  and  stated  that  William  H.  Keating, 
a  young  professor,  had  been  secretary  of  those  meetings,  and  had 
showed  much  interest  in  the  success  of  the  plan  ;  and  that  I 
would  find  Mr.  Keating  at  the  University  in  Ninth  Street. 


41 

I  called  on  Mr.  Keating,  introduced  myself,  stated  the  object 
of  my  visit,  and  asked  of  him  the  history  of  the  last  failure,  and 
if  he  would  join  me  in  the  present  movement.  Mr.  Keating  cor- 
dially responded  and  entered  heartily  into  my  views. 

He  gave  all  the  information  required  as  to  the  former  attempt 
and  failure  ;  and  an  account  of  the  Andersonian  Institute  of 
Glasgow,  on  which  it  was  proposed  to  model,  in  some  respects, 
the  new  Institution. 

After  perusing  these  documents,  we  had  several  interviews, 
during  which  we  agreed  upon  a  name,  and  sketched  a  programme 
of  the  purposes  we  proposed  to  incorporate  in  the  new  Institution. 

It  was  then  agreed,  as  a  point-d' -appui  was  necessary,  to  call 
a  small  meeting  which  would  by  proper  action  give  an  official 
start  to  the  machine.  Accordingly  I  summoned  a  third  meeting, 
to  which  four  gentlemen  responded.  Its  action  was  confined  to 
the  passage  of  a  resolution  approving  the  design,  and  to  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  committee  to  carry  out  the  idea  by  public  meeting 
or  otherwise. 

The  minute  of  this  meeting  is  the  managers'  book,  and  it  con- 
sisted of  five  persons.  The  correctness  of  names  is  somewhat  in 
doubt,  as  none  were  taken  down  at  the  time,  but  those  which 
appear  were  appended  some  years  afterwards  from  a  memoran- 
dum in  the  hands  of  the  chairman.  This  is,  however,  of  no  conse- 
quence, as  they  did  not  project  or  found  the  Institute,  but  merely 
passed  formal  resolutions  on  which  the  founders  acted. 

Having  thus  obtained  the  official  authority  of  a  meeting,  the 
committee  was  convened.  Mr.  S.  K.  Wood  and  myself  were  ap- 
pointed a  sub-committee  to  draft  a  constitution.  This  labor  fell 
to  my  share,  and  when  ready  Mr.  Wood  was  called  to  revise  and 
adopt  it,  ready  for  the  general  committee. 

When  commencing  to  read  the  draft  Mr.  Wood  stopped  me 
and  said,  "  Thee  need  not  read  that  paper.  I  have  no  doubt  it  is 
all  right,  and  I  will  agree  to  report  it ;  but  I  want  to  satisfy  thee 
that  this  Institution  can  never  succeed  and  had  better  be  aban- 
doned." 

I  then  listened  to  a  long  explanation  of  the  quarrel  between  two 
rival  architects,  and  learned  that  there  existed  such  a  feud  be- 
tween them  and  their  respective  friends  that  in  his  opinion  they 
could  never  coalesce  ;  and  If  either  party  took  up  the  proposed 
plan,  the  Institute  would  be  partisan  in  its  character,  and  be 
opposed  by  the  other. 

I  name  this  to  show  the  obstacles  thrown  ?n  the  way  of  the 
4 


42 

incipient  Institution,  and  I  think  that  was  the  real  reason  for  the 
failure  the  year  before. 

Unconvinced  by  Mr.  Wood's  reasoning,  the  draft  of  the  con- 
stitution was  reported  and  adopted  by  the  committee  at  large, 
which  also  agreed  upon  its  presentation  for  final  adoption  to  a 
public  meeting  to  be  convened  for  the  purpose  of  forming  an  as- 
sociation. 

Determined  that  the  Institute  should  not  be  smothered  by  rival 
interests,  Mr.  Keating  and  myself,  aided  by  Dr.  R.  E.  Griffith 
and  G.  W.  Smith,  who  were  deeply  interested  in  its  success,  had 
circulars  printed  to  the  number  of  12  or  1500.  One  of  us  read 
from  the  Directory  probable  names,  and  the  others  addressed  the 
notes  to  every  person  who  from  his  occupation  would  be  likely 
to  favor  the  movement.  These  notes  were  distributed  through 
the  post-office,  and  the  result  was  the  assembling  of  more  citizens 
than  could  be  crowded  into  the  county  court-house,  the  place 
agreed  on. 

This  meeting,  of  which  no  record  exists  within  my  knowledge, 
was  presided  over  by  James  Ronaldson,  Esq.,  and  after  the  pur- 
poses of  the  proposed  Institution  had  been  fully  explained  by  Col. 
P.  A.  Browne  and  others,  an  animated  discussion  took  place 
until  the  subject  was  fully  understood  by  a  highly  intelligent  as- 
sembly, who  unanimously  accorded  their  approbation  of  the  pur- 
pose in  view.  After  which  the  constitution  wras  presented,  criti- 
cally discussed,  and  after  amendment  was  unanimous^  adopted, 
and  a  day  fixed  for  the  election  of  officers  from  those  wrho  should 
previously  enroll  their  names,  and  which  numbered  some  three 
to  four  hundred. 

The  election  having  taken  place,  the  Franklin  Institute  assumed 
its  position  among  the  Institutions  of  the  State,  find  has  since 
attained  a  gratifying  pre-eminence. 

The  meeting  was  a  perfect  success  ;  and  the  novel  mode  of 
throwing  the  Association  open  to  the  world  without  the  interven- 
tion of  cliques,  made  it  universally  popular. 

I  have  been,  perhaps,  more  minute  in  details  than  would  be 
proper  for  a  public  purpose,  but  having  prepared  them  for  your 
eye,  it  may  be  pardoned. 

I  simply  desire  to  secure  a  record  of  these  proceedings  some- 
where, and  therefore  request  that,  when  you  have  perused  this, 
you  will  consign  it  to  one  of  your  "  pigeon  holes"  for  future  re- 
ference, if  occasion  should  occur. 

Yours  truly, 

S.  V.  MERRICK. 


43 


AFTER  the  music  had  ceased,  which  followed  Mr. 
Fraley's  address,  the  President  announced  the  next 
speaker,  saying  that,  in  seeking  for  some  one  to  speak 
on  the  progress  of  the  arts  and  sciences  during  the 
period  comprised  in  the  existence  of  the  Franklin 
Institute,  it  was  but  natural  that  the  committee 
should  look  to  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  for  a 
fitting  person.  The  teachers  of  that  great  school  have 
been  prominent  in  our  scientific  work,  so  that  some- 
how the  two  institutions  seem  almost  as  if  connected. 
Thus,  the  Professor  of  Chemistry  in  the  medical  de- 
partment of  the  University  is  also  a  vice-president 
of  the  Franklin  Institute;  being  himself  not  only  a 
chemist  and  physician,  but  has  shown  himself  to  be 
a  mechanic  too  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  word ;  he 
has  made  himself  familiar  with  the  progress  of  the 
mechanic  arts,  and  knows  well  the  part  played  by 
the  sciences  in  that  progress.  I  now  introduce  to 
the  audience  Dr.  ROBERT  E.  EOGERS,  Vice-President 
of  the  Franklin  Institute. 


ADDRESS  OF  PROF.  ROBERT  E.  ROGERS. 

MR.  PRESIDENT — LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN: 

For  a  country  which  will  two  years  hence  cele- 
brate only  its  first  ONE  HUNDREDTH  ANNIVERSARY  as 
a  Nation,  occasions  like  the  present  are  rare  and  of 
peculiar  interest. 

Fifty  years  ago,  the  Franklin  Institute  of  Phila- 
delphia pledged  itself  to  the  sciences  and  the  arts ; 
on  that  occasion  it  promised  them  its  love  and  de- 
votion ;  during  the  interval  that  has  since  elapsed 


44 

they  have  lived  together  in  happy  companionship. 
To-night  we  celebrate  their  GOLDEN  WEDDING. 

Permit  me,  Mr.  President,  to  thank  you  cordially 
for  the  words  of  compliment  with  which  you  have 
introduced  me,  and  to  express  my  high  sense  of  the 
honor  which  the  Institute  has  bestowed  in  assigning 
to  me  the  responsible  and  difficult  duty  which  I  am 
called  upon  this  evening  to  perform. 

This  honor  I  should  have  felt  myself  constrained 
to  decline,  in  view  of  the  almost  unlimited  range 
of  the  theme  and  an  oppressive  consciousness  of 
insufficient  time — amid  my  other  labors — for  the 
preparation  of  anything  worthy  of  the  occasion,  but 
for  the  assurance  of  friends,  that  all  allowance  will  be 
made  for  any  short-comings.  I  have,  therefore,  con- 
sented to  attempt  to  sketch,  in  brief  outline,  some 
of  the  more  important  discoveries  in  science,  and 
improvements  in  the  arts,  which  have  been  made 
during  these  past  fifty  years — within  the  lifetime  of 
the  Franklin  Institute. 

A  little  more  than  a  hundred  years  ago,  the 
genius  of  Watt  produced  a  marvel  in  the  shape  of  a 
practical  steam  engine  ;(!)*  and  Fulton,  and  Stevens, 
and  others  in  this  country  had,  a  little  later,  made 
successful  application  of  it  on  rivers  and  lakes.  But 
it  was  left  for  the  period  we  are  here  met  to  com- 
memorate to  spread  the  network  of  the  iron  rail, 
almost  over  the  surface  of  the  globe;  and  to  intro- 
duce the  Locomotive — not,  it  is  true,  in  its  perfect 
form,  but  in  those  two  vital  features  which,  in  1829, 
were  successfully  applied  by  Robert  Stephenson — 
namely,  the  injection  of  the  exhaust  steam  into  the 

*  All  the  references  in  the  text  refer  to  the  notes  in  the  Ap- 
pendix. 


45 

smoke-stack,  and  the  multitubular  form  of  boiler ; 
the  former  originating  in  the  fertile  brain  of  Ste- 
phenson,  the  latter,  it  is  stated,  the  suggestion  of  Mr. 
Booth,  who  was  then  in  the  interest  of  the  Liver- 
pool and  Manchester  Railway  Company;  inventions 
which  alone  give  to  the  machine  that  steam-generat- 
ing power  adequate  to  fulfil  the  requirements  of 
trade  and  travel,  and  which,  to  this  day,  have  not 
been  superseded. (2)* 

Who  has  not  read,  with  enthusiastic  admiration, 
of  the  competitive  trial  on  the  Liverpool  and  Man- 
chester Railway,  of  the  Rocket,  the  Novelty,  and  the 
Sans  Pareil,  of  October,  1829,  in  which  the  former, 
that  of  Stephenson,  so  triumphantly  took  the  prize  ? 

At  this  period  it  had  been  ascertained  that,  on 
level  tracts  and  with  moderate  loads,  the  tires  of 
the  driving  wheels  might  be  smooth. 

The  next  result  to  be  accomplished  was  to  dis- 
pense with  cog-wheels  and  notched  rails,  stationary 
engines  and  inclined  planes,  and  to  enable  the  loco- 
motive not  only  to  draw  at  high  speed  its  ponderous 
train  of  cars  over  the  level  track,  but  also  to  climb 
steep  grades  by  a  power  within  itself.  This  was 
effected  by  the  discovery  made  quite  within  the 
period  we  note,  that  by  sufficiently  loading  the  en- 
gine over  the  driving  wheels,  and  by  increasing  the 
number  of  the  driving  wheels,  their  adhesion  is  ren- 
dered adequate  to  overcome  the  increased  resistance 
due  to  gravity,  and  to  enable  it  thereby  with  almost 
equal  facility  to  cross  the  mountain  as  to  traverse 
the  plain.(3) 

Much  credit  is  due  to  Mr.  Moncure  Robinson  for 

*  This  is  the  usually  accepted  history  of  these  improvements. 
For  another  statement  see  note  2  of  Appendix. 


46 

• 

his  zeal  and  perseverance  in  urging  the  introduction 
into  the  service  of  the  Reading  Railroad  of  this  class 
of  locomotives,  now  so  almost  universally  in  use. 

The  interest  awakened  at  home  and  abroad  by  the 
performance  of  the  Gowan  &  Marx,  is  so  distinctly 
pointed  out  by  the  able  writer,  M.  Michel  Chevalier, 
in  his  treatise  "  Histoire  et  Description  des  Voies  de 
Communication  aux  Etats  Unis,"(4)  and  by  the  late 
Joseph  Harrison,  Jr.,  in  his  volume  the  "Locomo- 
tive," that  I  deem  it  in  place  to  make  the  quota- 
tions given  in  the  Appendix.(5) 

To  this  period  belongs  also  the  mighty  Marine  En- 
gine, and  the  improved  form  of  propeller,(6)  which, 
revolutionizing  navigation,  have  rendered  the  ocean 
also  a  crowded  highway  of  swiftly  moving  commerce. 
Not  a  few  of  those  here  assembled  will  fail  to  recall 
the  curiosity  and  amazement  with  which  they  be- 
held anchored  in  American  waters,  in  succession, 
the  "Sirius"  and  the  "Great  Western,"  the  first 
steam-ships  that  had  crossed  the  Atlantic,  so  proudly 
solving  the  great  problem  that  had  agitated  the 
nautical  and  commercial  world. (7) 

Glancing  over  the  industrial  arts,  there  would 
seem  to  be  no  end  to  the  varied  and  multifarious 
directions  in  which  the  potent  energies  of  steam 
have,  in  these  recent  years,  been  applied. 

At  an  earlier  period  had  been  invented  the  cotton 
gin  of  Whitney,  to  take  the  place  of  the  tedious 
process  of  hand  picking ;  and  the  spinning  mule  of 
Cartwright,  twisting  from  the  thinnest  fibre  to  the 
stoutest  cable;  and  the  power  loom  of  Arkwright, 
weaving  from  the  finest  gossamer  to  the  coarsest 
canvas  or  carpet ;  but  favorably  comparing  with 
these  inventions,  both  in  ingenuity  and  value  to  the 


47 

world,  are  the  steam  printing  presses  of  Hoe,  and 
of  Bullock  of  our  own  time  and  country,  and  of 
Walter,  of  England,(8)  wThich,  with  their  almost 
living  fingers,  and,  as  by  human  guidance,  lift,  and 
carry,  and  turn  over  for  the  type  the  paper  to  be 
printed,  and  are  able  to  throw  off  an  edition  of  one 
hundred  thousand  double-printed  sheets  within  the 
brief  space  of  a  few  hours ;  and  the  Steam  Hammer, 
in  its  improved  forms,  with  its  delicate  touch  or 
giant  power  that  can  shape  the  needle  or  forge  the 
anchor. 

While  we  have  snatched  the  oar  from  the  sluggish 
barge,  and  torn  the  white  canvas  from  the  kissing 
breeze,  and  through  the  agencies  of  steam  have 
covered  the  rivers  and  the  seas  with  those  quick 
and  sure  messengers  of  trade,  whose  wings  no  cur- 
rent can  arrest,  and  scarcely  tide  or  tempest  can 
delay,  so  in  the  manufactory,  where  the  weary  horse 
or  fluctuating  wind  or  stream  slowly  and  unsteadily 
performed  their  appointed  tasks,  we  have  planted 
the  engine  with  its  highly  improved  capabilities, 
whose  untiring  energy  whirls  the  spindle  or  throws 
the  shuttle,  and  performs  besides  in  its  hundred 
handed  dexterity,  with  new  forms  of  machinery, 
every  variety  of  labor,  from  that  of  pumping,  saw- 
ing, planing,  hoisting,  grinding,  pounding,  boring, 
threshing,  rolling,  and  propelling  the  furnace-blast, 
to  that  of  dragging  the  ponderous  gang  plough  over 
the  stretches  of  our  western  prairies. 

It  was  as  far  back  as  1790  that  Galvani  evoked 
the  first  fact  in  dynamic  electricity  ;  this  led  to 
Yolta's  discovery  in  1800  of  the  Voltaic  pile,  and 
the  device  of  the  crown  of  cups ;  and  was  followed 
later  in  the  same  year  by  the  startling  discoveries 


48 

by  Davy  of  the  true  nature  of  the  battery's  action, 
and  by  its  agency  of  the  metals  of  the  alkalies  and 
alkaline  earths. 

While  all  honor  and  admiration  are  due  to  each  of 
these  gifted  philosophers,  it  was  reserved  for  a  period 
almost  within  the  last  half  century  to  witness  the 
experiments  of  Oersted  and  Ampere  in  the  deflection 
of  the  magnetic  needle  by  the  galvanic  current,  the 
magnetization  of  iron  by  the  same  influence,  by 
Arago,  and  within  this  period,  of  Sturgeon  and  our 
own  Prof.  Henry (9)  to  produce  the  electro-magnet, 
and  of  Faraday — the  once  humble  bookbinder — to 
write  his  name  in  letters  of  gold  among  men,  for 
his  extensive  and  profound  researches  in  electricity, 
static  and  dynamic. 

Upon  the  combined  discoveries  and  researches  of 
these  philosophers  is  based  that  second  marvel  of 
modern  civilization — the  Electric  Telegraph — the 
most  prominent  forms  of  which  are  those  of  Morse 
and  Wheatstone,  the  Mechanical(lO)  and  the  Needle 
or  oscillating,  the  one  for  the  land,  the  other  for  the 
sea. 

Wonderful  as  is  this  achievement,  it  is  but  one  of 
the  innumerable  fruits  of  these  discoveries,  which  so 
much  contribute  to  the  comfort,  enjoyment,  and  re- 
finement of  mankind. 

Mark  for  instance  the  whole  range  of  Electro- 
chemistry ;  the  decomposition  by  the  galvanic  cur- 
rent, of  the  metallic  salts  in  the  processes  of  electro- 
plating of  copper,  nickel,  silver,  and  gold,  whereby 
engravings  of  maps  and  verniers,  busts,  medals,  and 
other  objects  of  use  and  ornament  may  be  reproduced 
as  perfect  fac-similes,  and  the  beautiful  semblance 
of  the  precious  metals  made  to  take  the  place  of 


49 

base  and  less  attractive  alloys;  and  the  dissipation 
of  the  threatening  tumor  and  treatment  of  other 
maladies  by  its  destructive  chemical  or  heating 
powers. 

And  then  the  electro-carbon  light  whose  splendor 
is  only  surpassed  by  that  of  the  sun  himself.  And 
again  the  no  less  powerful  but  more  convenient 
-magneto-electric  light,  which  now  glows  from  the 
towers  of  Le  Hevre  and  Dungeness  to  warn  the 
storm-beaten  and  bewildered  mariner  as  he  approaches 
the  rock-bound  coast.(ll) 

Witness  through  electro-magnetism  the  various 
signal  instruments,  as  the  burglar-alarm,  the  fire- 
alarm,  the  factor}7  and  depot-watchman's  check 
clock,  and  more  valuable  perhaps  than  many  of 
these,  the  chronograph,  by  which  the  longitudes  of 
places  on  the  earth's  surface  are  ascertained  with 
more  precision  than  ever  before  attained,  replacing 
the  old  methods  of  determining  the  occurrence  of 
celestial  phenomena,  such  as  the  transit  of  stars  and 
planets,  wherein  the  observation  is  recorded  directly 
by  the  touch  of  an  electro-magnetic  trigger,  a 
method  known  and  recognized  as  the  American 
method,  instead  of  by  the  eye  and  hand. 

In  this  connection  must  be  named  the  whole  cata- 
logue of  the  constant  galvanic  batteries,  those  of 
Daniel,  Grove,  Bunsen,  and  Callan,  and  the  water 
batteries  of  Gassiot,  and  that  of  the  Bichromate  of 
Potassium  and  Sulphuric  Acid,  and  later,  the  Gravity 
battery,  without  whose  agency  the  manifold  modern 
applications  of  this  subtile  power  could  not  have 
been  accomplished. (12)  And  here  too  we  must  men- 
tion the  steam  electrical  machine  devised  by  Arm- 
strong, and  so  fully  investigated  by  Faraday. 


50 

Within  this  same  period  we  are  also  to  note  the 
remarkable  discovery  of  Diamagnetism  by  that  great 
man  and  his  researches  therein,  and  the  discovery 
by  Seebeck  of  a  whole  new  class  of  phenomena 
under  the  title  of  Thermo-electricity,  and  also  the 
device  of  those  curious  and  instructive  instruments 
for  the  production  of  induced  electricity,  the  Ruhm- 
korff  and  Ritchie  coils,  the  Holtz  and  Toepler  and 
other  non-friction  electrical  machines  with  their 
brilliant  companions  for  illustration,  the  vacuum 
tubes  of  Gassiot,  Geissler,  and  GaifFe,  and  the  cas- 
cade of  Gassiot ;  and  under  the  same  head  we  are  to 
make  record  of  the  practical  applications  of  these 
agencies  as  seen  in  the  blasting  of  rocks,  and  the 
exploding  of  mines  and  torpedoes  in  marine  warfare. 

We  turn  next  to  the  field  of  astronomy,  and  here 
it  is  curious  to  note,  in  passing,  that  a  period  of  fifty 
years  (as  referred  to  by  Sir  David  Brewster)  seems  to 
have  been  the  interval  between  each  important  step 
in  connection  with  the  great  instrument  of  research 
in  that  science — the  Telescope. 

After  the  telescope  of  Galileo,  came  that  of  New- 
ton ;  and  fifty  years  after  that  of  Newton,  was  con- 
structed that  of  Hadley .;  fifty  years  after  Hadley's, 
the  instrument  of  Sir  William  Herschel,  by  which  so 
many  grand  and  startling  discoveries  were  achieved. 

Fifty  years  later  brings  us  to  our  own  epoch,  when 
we  are  permitted  to  gaze  with  astonished  vision 
through  those  marvellous  productions  of  Lord  ROSB, 
Alvan  Clark,  and  Lassel ;  instruments  capable  of 
bringing  the  moon,  lying  in  space  240,000  miles 
away ,(13)  to  the  near  distance  of  90  miles,  revealing 
its  rocks,  mountains,  valleys,  and  extinct  volcanoes : 
"the  crescent  of  the  planet  Venus  with  its  moun- 


51 

tainous  outline,"  the  system  of  double  and  treble  stars, 
the  nebulae,  and  starry  clusters  of  every  variety  of 
shape,  and  those  "  spiral  nebular  formations,"  which, 
while  they  awaken  unbounded  curiosity  and  restless 
speculation,  continue  to  baffle  human  comprehension. 

In  this  domain  of  science  we  are  called  upon  to 
record,  as  made  within  the  period  of  which  we  are 
now  speaking,  observations  and  discoveries  of  the 
highest  interest.  Thus,  those  regularly  recurring 
showers  of  meteors,  which,  within  the  last  half 
century,  have  so  much  attracted  the  attention  of 
astronomers,  and  which  were  first  distinctly  proved 
by  our  countryman,  Olmsted,  to  be  rings  or  groups 
of  bodies,  revolving  around  the  sun,  in  orbits  inter- 
secting the  pathway  of  the  earth,  have,  of  late,  been 
considered  as  arranging  themselves  into  some  rela- 
tionship with  Cometary  forms,  and  are  regarded  as 
being  most  probably  so  many  great  companies  of 
far  out-lying  skirmishers  to  those  attenuated  bodies. 

Within  this  period  the  list  of  Asteroids,  which 
was  before  only  four,  has  been  increased  to  more 
than  one  hundred  and  thirty;  and  through  the  patient 
toil,  philosophical  acumen  in  dealing  with  the  intri- 
cate question  of  planetary  perturbations,  and  the 
profound  mathematical  calculations  of  Leverrier, 
Adams,  and  Peirce,  a  new  world  has  been  discovered, 
to  take  its  place  among  the  sisterhood  of  planets, 
having  eight  times  the  diameter,  or  more  than  five 
hundred  times  the  cubical  mass  of  the  planet  upon 
which  we  dwell — a  discovery  which  will  shine  forth 
in  eternal  commemoration  of  one  of  the  grandest 
efforts  of  the  human  intellect  in  modern  times. 

Cognate  with  astronomy  is  the  science  of  optics. 

During  the  past  fifty  years  whole  regions  of  hith- 
erto unexplored  territory  have  been  mapped  out ; 


52 

distinct  and  totally  new  branches  of  the  subject  have 
sprung  into  existence.  Indeed,  it  may  be  questioned 
whether  any  department  of  human  knowledge  has 
been  so  prolific  in  discovery  and  so  rich  in  the  ac- 
cessions of  truth  within  this  period  as  this  one  of 
Light. 

The  Emission  theory  of  Newton  was  opposed,  and 
the  doctrine  of  Wave  motion  was  advocated  by  Huy- 
gen  and  Euler  long  anterior,  yet  the  wave  doctrine 
did  not  take  its  final  shape  until  a  much  later  period. 

The  philosophical  mind  of  Dr.  Thomas  Young, 
who  died  no  earlier  than  1829,  had  grasped  this 
theory  of  light,  and  had  contributed  much  towards 
establishing  it  by  his  experiments  and  calculations. 
There  was  needed,  however,  some  further  testimony 
in  its  behalf  to  secure  its  general  adoption.  This 
was  supplied  by  the  experiments  and  mathematical 
calculations  of  Fresnell ;  and  it  has  now  become  the 
universally  accepted  view. 

This  point  established — and  it  has  been  done  with- 
in the  past  five  decades — the  lifetime  to-day  of  the 
Franklin  Institute,  we  may  now  call  up,  in  rapid 
narration,  not  attempting  any  strictly  chronological 
order,  some  of  the  more  prominent  discoveries  in 
this  branch  of  science. 

Although  Mai  us  had  discovered  the  polarization 
of  light  by  reflection  as  early  as  1810,  and  the  same 
philosopher,  and  Biot  and  Brewster  had  a  little  later, 
and  independently  of  each  other,  discovered  the  same 
result  by  refraction,  yet  we  can  claim  justly  for  the 
period  in  which  we  are  now  interested,  the  addition 
of  many  important  observations  and  discoveries 
which  have  contributed  to  render  this  branch  of 


53 

knowledge  one  of  the  most  interesting  as  well  as 
one  of  the  most  perfect  of  the  physical  sciences. 
Among  the  illustrious  names  to  be  mentioned  in  this 
connection,  besides  those  referred  to,  are  Arago  and 
Sir  John  Herschel. 

While  the  great  improvements  referred  to,  in  the 
telescope,  were  in  progress,  the  instrument  by  which 
we  are  enabled  to  look  into  the  intimate  structure  of 
the  materials  around  us,  was  receiving  steadily  new 
accessions,  both  to  its  power  and  to  the  variety  ot 
its  applications.  Although  the  Microscope,  in  its 
early  and  simple  form,  was  a  means  of  important 
discovery  especially  in  the  structure  of  organic  forms, 
it  was  not  until  within  the  last  fifty  years,  that  it 
received  those  improvements,  which  fitted  it  for  ac- 
curate and  precise  research. 

These  improvements,  commencing  with  Pritchard, 
Oberhauser,  and  Chevallier,  and  advancing  in  the 
workshops  of  Ross,  Powel  and  Leland,  Smith  and 
Beck,  Nachet,  and  others  in  Europe,  and  in  those  of 
Spencer,  Wales,  Towles,  and  Zentmayer  in  this 
country,  have  at  length  given  to  the  naturalist  and 
Investigator  in  Physics  a  means  of  exploration, 
which,  in  the  marvels  of  its  discoveries  among  the 
almost  infinitely  small  parts  of  bodies,  rivals  and 
perhaps  excels  the  stupendous  revelations  of  the 
telescope  among  the  masses  and  spaces  of  the 
heavens. 

By  the  increased  power  and  perfection  of  its  com- 
posite objectives,  and  the  use  of  polarizing  and 
other  appendages,  it  has  become  one  of  the  most 
precious  of  our  "  instruments  of  precision,"  giving 
us,  among  other  results,  so  clear  and  faithful  a  view 
of  the  minutest  living  structure,  as  to  enable  us 


54 

to  mark  the  elementary  cell  in  each  stage  of  its  de- 
velopment, and  leading  us  to  that  great  physiologi- 
cal law  which  makes  the  living  microscopic  cell  the 
physical  origin  of  every  organic  form  and  of  all 
organic  growth. 

Nor  let  us  omit  to  mention,  that  while  thus  enlarg- 
ing our  philosophical  conception  of  the  relation  of 
living  tissues  and  forms,  it  becomes  in  the  hands  oi 
the  physician,  an  instrument  of  essential  daily  use  in 
judging  of  the  nature  and  seat  of  disease,  guiding  to 
a  wise  diagnosis  and  an  enlightened  treatment. 

In  connection  with  the  chemical  action  of  light,  a 
vast  field  of  observation  and  discovery  has  been  ex- 
plored. 

It  is  probable  that  Watt  and  Bolton  in  1799  suc- 
ceeded in  taking  sun  pictures  on  paper,  although  no 
written  account  of  their  method  has  been  transmitted 
to  us ;  and  it  is  well  established  that  in  1802,  Sir 
Humphry  Davy  and  Thomas  Wedge  wood  actually 
accomplished  the  same  result ;  but  it  was  not  until 
Niepce  and  Daguerre,  of  Paris,  between  the  years 
1827  and  1839  successfully  devised  the  method  of 
producing  those  extraordinary  heliographic  pictures, 
known  as  the  Daguerrotype. 

Who  that  is  of  sufficient  age  does  not  remember 
the  amazement  and  delight  with  which  he  first  in- 
spected those  charming  pictures  of  trees  and  build- 
ings, landscapes  and  grazing  herds,  with  all  their 
minutest  details  sketched  by  the  sun,  on  the  silver 
plate  with  his  own  actinic  pencil ;  and  then  a  little 
later  their  intense  enjoyment  through  the  sentiment 
involved,  of  those  speaking  portraits  of  loving  friends, 
first  produced  by  our  philosophic  investigator  Prof. 
Draper  ? 


55 

In  1839  Mr.  Fox  Talbot  first  successfully  produced 
what  he  called  "photogenic"  drawings,  upon  paper 
first  charged  with  iodide  of  silver,  then  dipped  in 
nitrate  of  silver  and  subsequently  in  iodide  of  potas- 
sium, and  after  exposure  to  the  object  developed  to 
view,  by  washing  in  a  mixture  of  aceto-nitrate  and 
gallic  acid,  and  finally  fixed  by  means  of  hyposul- 
phite of  sodium. 

From  this  has  sprung  the  exquisite  art  of  modern 
photography,  which  in  its  many  sided  applications 
has  become  a  familiar  and  almost  necessary  member 
of  every  household. 

Quickly  following  the  Talbotype,  we  have  had  de- 
vised in  rapid  succession  an  almost  endless  variety  of 
modifications  of  the  paper  photograph,  and  we  now 
witness  as  but  of  yesterday  that  triumph  of  patient 
skill  in  this  same  progress,  the  Woodburytype,  which 
first  calls  upon  the  sun  to  paint  his  faithful  picture 
upon  the  sensitized  film,  then  transfers  it  with  un- 
failing accuracy  to  a  metallic  plate,  from  which  it 
may  be  printed  on  paper  by  means  of  appropriate 
ink,  as  in  lithographic  or  copperplate  work. 

To  this  may  be  added  the  still  more  recent,  and 
perhaps  more  perfect  invention  just  coming  into  use, 
which,  under  the  name  of  the  Heliotype  accomplishes 
the  same  end  by  printing  directly  from  the  film  itself, 
hardened  after  it  has  received  the  picture. 

Nor  should  we,  in  this  enumeration  of  the  achieve- 
ments of  photography,  omit  to  mention  its  uses  to  the 
astronomer. 

The  world  has  already  become  familiar  with  those 
remarkable  photographic  pictures  of  the  moon,  ob- 
tained by  our  ingenious  countryman,  Mr.  Rutherford, 
in  which  is  depicted,  with  marvellous  fidelity,  every 


56 

feature  of  our  satellite  which  the  telescope  reveals. 
And  at  this  very  moment,  another  of  our  country- 
men, the  astronomer  Gould,  in  his  observatory  nt 
Cordoba,  on  the  plains  of  the  Upper  La  Plata,  is 
engaged  in  mapping,  by  photographic  instruments 
and  processes,  and  with  a  precision  unequalled  by 
any  other  method,  the  constellations  of  the  Southern 
hemisphere. 

In  1802,  Dr.  Wollaston,  allowing  the  light  of  the 
sun,  after  passing  through  a  narrow  slit  in  a  darkened 
room,  to  fall  upon  a  prism  of  glass,  observed  a  few 
dark  lines  crossing  at  different  places,  the  prismatic 
spectrum. 

In  1814,  the  skilful  optician,  Fraunhofer,  counted 
and  mapped  as  many  as  576  of  these  lines.  He 
ascertained  that  light  so  treated,  if  it  were  of  the 
sun,  whether  as  his  direct  rays  or  by  reflection,  as 
from  the  moon  or  any  of  the  planets,  gave  these  lines 
always  in  precisely  the  same  relative  position  to  each 
other,  and  to  the  colors  of  the  spectrum  ;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  that  when  the  light  of  the  stars,  which  are 
self-luminous,  was  so  observed,  it  gave  for  each  star 
its  own  dark  lines,  and  differently  located  from  those 
of  the  sun.  He  was  able  to  assign  no  reason  for  these 
phenomena,  but  concluded  that  they  were  due  to  a 
cause  beyond  the  influence  of  our  Atmosphere. 

After  an  interval  of  some  years,  in  which  little  of 
direct  observation  had  been  made,  a  new  impulse  was 
given  to  the  investigation  of  these  phenomena. 
J.  W.  Draper,  of  this  country,  M.  Faucoult  of 
France,  Drs.  Balfour  Stewart,  and  Miller  of  Eng- 
land, had  enunciated  a  doctrine  known  as  that  of 
"  exchanges,"  more  especially  in  connection  with 


57 

the  phenomena  of  radiation  and  absorption  of 
caloric.(14)* 

This,  followed  out  with  the  aid  of  sagacious  gene- 
ralizations and  ingeniously  devised  experiments,  in 
the  hands  of  Kirchoff,  culminated  in  that  grand  dis- 
covery which,  under  the  name  of  spectrum  analysis, 
not  only  furnishes  the  means  of  the  most  delicate 
qualitative  determination  of  substances  even  to  the 
discovery  of  new  elements,  but  extending  its  powers 
beyond  the  earth,  has  supplied  us  with  a  solar  and 
stellar  chemistry. 

Truly  the  revelations  of  science  are  more  strange 
than  fiction. 

Who  that  saw  with  Wollaston,  for  the  first  time, 
a  few  dark  lines  traced  at  intervals  across  the  column 
of  the  prismatic  spectrum,  could  have  conceived  that 
they  should  lead  to  the  amazing  discoveries  and 
generalizations  which  have  followed,  and  that  to-day 
we  should  witness  Kirchoff,  Bunsen,  Huggens,  Lock- 
yer,  Jansen,  and  Secchi,  pointing  their  spectroscope 
to  the  skies  to  bid  the  sun,  and  planets,  and  stars,  and 
even  the  comets  and  nebulae  themselves  to  reveal  to 
man  the  hidden  secrets  of  their  nature  and  composi- 
tion ? 

Next  in  sequence  we  may  properly  speak  of  the 
kindred  branch  of  science — Acoustics — that  fascinat- 
ing subject  which  has  ever  been  a  source  of  delight 
to  the  student  of  the  laws  which  govern  the  pheno- 

*  Dr.  John  W.  Draper  has,  in  the  number  of  "Nature"  for 
July  30th  of  the  present  year,  entered  a  reclaimer,  in  connection 
with  the  announcement  of  the  fundamental  facts,  on  which  rests 
the  doctrine  of  Spectrum  Analysis.  I  deem  it  due  that  distin- 
guished investigator  to  quote  his  statement.  See  Appendix. 
5 


58 

mena  of  sound,  and  of  exquisite  enjoyment  in  its 
musical  relation  to  the  mass  of  mankind. 

Yet  it  is  interesting  and  singular  to  note  that, 
while  men  have  lived  in  the  grand  musical  triumphs 
of  each  period  in  succession,  musical  composition 
and  execution  have  been,  in  a  great  measure,  inde- 
pendent of  the  science  of  its  physical  phenomena. 
It  is,  indeed,  to  be  doubted  whether  Handel,  Hay- 
den,  Mozart,  or  Bethoven  ever  concerned  themselves 
at  all  with  the  wave  length  of  this  note  or  that,  or 
whether  they  even  knew  accurately  the  relative 
length  of  strings  or  pipes,  which  produced  one  octave 
above  another. 

Therefore,  since  the  esthetic  relations,  and  all  the 
charms  of  music  could  be  realized  without  the  labors 
of  the  experimenter  and  the  natural  philosopher,  it 
is  not  unnatural  that  within  the  term  of  years  in 
which  we  are  now  particularly  interested,  no  great 
number  of  marked  discoveries  of  facts  should  have 
been  made.  Yet  RO  attractive  is  the  whole  subject 
of  sound,  not  only  as  a  study  within  itself,  but  in 
its  relations  to  the  phenomena  of  light  and  heat, 
which  it  is  so  well  adapted  to  elucidate,  it  was  to  be 
expected  that  it  would  be  made  the  theme  of  exten- 
sive illustration.  Therefore  in  the  department  of 
experimental  acoustics,  few  branches  of  science  have 
within  these  recent  years  witnessed  a  progress  so 
great.  To  the  ingenuity  and  skill  of  Savart,  See- 
beck,  Cladni,  Wheatstone,  Lissajeau,  Helmholtz, 
Koenig,  Kundt,  and  Mayer,  of  Hoboken,  we  are  in- 
debted for  the  large '  portion  of  the  instructive  ap- 
paratus seen  at  the  present  time  on  the  counter  of 
the  lecture  room. (15) 

Let  us  next  visit  the  laboratory  of  the  chemist, 


59 

look  into  the  furnace  of  the  metallurgist,  and  enter 
the  dye-house  of  the  manufacturer,  to  take  account 
of  a  few  of  the  results  which  have  been  accomplished 
in  these  directions  within  the  last  fifty  years ;  and 
here  a  processson  of  almost  endless  length  passes 
before  our  view. 

We  witness,  just  on  the  verge  of  the  period  we 
are  discussing,  the  first  distinct  isolation,  from  Peru- 
vian bark,  of  that  precious  alkaloid  Quinia,  whose 
wondrous  sanative  powers  have  rescued  so  many 
sufiferers  from  malarious  poisoning.  We  see  im- 
provements made  in  the  extraction  of  nearly  all  the 
remedial  proximate  principles,  as  Morphia,  Quinia, 
Strychnia,  and  the  like,  and  the  application  to  pur- 
poses of  blasting  and  mining  of  explosive  compounds, 
Fulminating  mercury,  Fulminating  silver,  White 
Powder,  Gun  Cotton,  and  ]N"itro-glycerine,  with  its 
modifications  Dinamite  and  "Giant  Powder." 

We  note  the  new  treatment  by  Tilghman  of  fats 
and  oils  for  the  separation  of  stearic  and  margaric 
acid  from  glycerine  for  candles,  and  the  uses  of  that 
latter  substance  in  medicine  as  well  as  in  the  arts ; 
the  manipulation  of  Gum-elastic  by  which  it  is  on  the 
one  hand  rendered  soluble  and  suitable  to  form  belt- 
ing, tubing,  bags,  and  waterproof  shoes,  coats,  blan- 
kets, tents,  etc.,  and  on  the  other  turned  into  Vulcanite 
and  Ebonite  with  their  numberless  applications ;  and 
of  Gutta  Percha  too,  that  wonderful  gum,  so  plastic 
when  warm,  so  firm  and  resisting  when  cold,  and 
so  highly  endowed  with  electro-insulating  power. 

We  should  do  injustice  to  the  profound  science, 
and  the  skill  displayed  in  the  chemical  arts,  did  we 
not  here  note  those  magnificent  pigments  and  dyeing 
materials  which  have,  within  recent  years,  been  re- 


60 

vealed  by  the  treatment  of  coal  tar,  the  waste  pro- 
duct of  gas  making.  I  allude  to  the  various  Aniline 
colors  whose  rich  brilliancy  of  tints  vie  with  the 
hues  of  the  solar  spectrum. 

These  are  all  dependent  for  their  production  upon 
the  discovery  of  Benzole,  made  by  Faraday. 

Among  these  products  we  have  a  bla*ck,  blue, 
green,  brown,  purple,  pink,  violet,  yellow,  and  a  red, 
adapted  for  dyeing,  for  calico  printing,  the  manu- 
facture of  the  lake  pigments  and  lithographic  inks. 
And,  more  singular  than  all,  Alizarine,  which  re- 
presents the  coloring  principles  of  madder  furnish- 
ing the  first  example  of  the  synthetical  production  of 
a  natural  coloring  matter. 

Thus  we  see,  derived  from  the  most  humble  origin? 
a  rich  variety  of  shades  wherewith  art  may  adorn 
her  work,  or  beauty  and  fashion  array  themselves. 

In  immediate  connection  with  this  theme,  I  would 
here  refer  to  those  startling  discoveries  of  Berthelot 
and  others  recently  given  to  the  world,  in  which  it 
was  ascertained  that  by  the  synthetic  method,  or  by 
what  may  be  termed  the  inverted  process  of  chemical 
reaction,  a  large  number  of  organic  substances  may 
be  produced,  such  as  alcohol,  wood  spirit,  grape 
sugar,  formic  acid,  and  vinegar,  without  the  instru- 
mentality of  a  previous  organic  substance. 

While  thus  referring  to  the  recent  labors  of  chem- 
istry in  works  conducing  to  the  power  and  wealth 
and  civilization  of  the  world,  we  must  not  forget 
those  beneficient  discoveries  which  have  secured  to 
man  immunity  from  pain  in  circumstances  of  other- 
wise agonizing  suffering  ;  for  it  is  to  this  science  that 
we  are  indebted  for  those  anaesthetic  agents — nitrous 
oxide  gas,  ether,  and  chloroform — which  are  now  so 


61 

universally  employed  in  medicine  and  surgery,  and 
which  are  recognized  by  all  as  a  precious  boon  to  the 
operating  surgeon,  and  a  priceless  blessing  to  suffer- 
ing humanity. 

Leaving  untouched,  for  want  of  time,  the  whole 
of  the  sciences  of  geology  and  natural  history,  we 
may  glance  at  a  few  of  the  developments  which 
have  been  made  within  the  last  half  century  per- 
taining to  mining  interests. 

At  the  beginning  of  this  period  bituminous  coals 
were  taken  from  the  earth  in  Great  Britain  and  on 
the  continent  in  quantities  measured  annually  by 
the  few  hundreds  of  thousands  of  tons ;  now,  the 
quantity  is  summed  up  by  millions.  To-day  the 
yearly  product  of  Great  Britain  alone  is  not  less 
than  one  hundred  and  ten  millions  of  tons,  an  amount, 
if  estimated  in  mechanical  energy,  equal  to  a  labor- 
ing population  of  not  fewer  than  twenty-Jive  millions 
of  able-bodied  men. 

We  have  to  record  as  discovered  within  this 
period,  the  vast  beds  of  anthracite  coal,  the  black 
diamond  of  our  own  State — more  precious  than  the 
mines  of  Golconda — which  has  added  so  vastly  to 
the  prosperity  and  wealth,  not  only  of  this  Com- 
monwealth, but  to  that  of  the  whole  country ;  to 
refer  to  the  petroleum  of  our  western  counties, 
which,  until  within  recent  years,  had  been  known 
only  in  small  quantity  and  as  a  useless  object  of 
curiosity,  now  flowing  or  being  pumped  from  innu- 
merable artesian  wells,  and  yielding,  under  chemical 
treatment,  lubricating  and  burning  oils,  volatile 
products,  as  gasoline,  rigolene,  etc.,  with  solid 
paraffine  for  candles  and  telegraphic  insulating  pur- 
poses; also  to  the  mines  of  California,  Colorado, 


62 

Nevada,  Utah,  and  Australia,  rich  in  their  precious 
treasures  of  gold,  silver,  and  mercury;  and  in  this 
connection,  to  those  extraordinary  devices  of  engi- 
neering skill,  those  mountain  canals  or  flumes,  and 
powerful  hydraulic  jets,  for  battering  down  the  vast 
auriferous  gravel  hills  of  some  of  these  regions,  for 
the  washing  out  and  collection  of  their  precious 
contents. 

In  metallurgic  processes  great  progress  has  been 
made  in  the  extraction  and  treatment  of  iron,  cop- 
per, lead,  quicksilver,  nickel,  aluminium,  and  the 
precious  metals. 

Thus  the  anthracite  furnace  has  taken  the  place 
of  the  charcoal  furnace,  and  the  hot  blast  has 
superseded  the  cold  blast  in  the  smelting  of  iron  ; 
and  more  striking  than  these  is  the  improved  manu- 
facture of  steel  by  the  remarkable  method  of  Besse- 
mer, accomplished  by  driving  a  blast  of  air  through 
molten  iron  just  after  it  has  been  received  from  the 
furnace  in  a  clay-lined  crucible,  a  process  which 
seerns  destined  to  revolutionize  this  great  branch  of 
industry. 

And  still  more  recently  we  have  to  hail  as  of  to- 
day, the  discovery  of  that  remarkable  alloy  of  cop- 
per and  tin  associated  with  a  small  percentage  of 
phosphorus,  which  seems  to  endow  it  with  proper- 
ties of  great  value.  This  substance  has  been  named 
Phosphor-bronze. 

In  the  art  of  war,  too,  we  are  called  upon  to 
chronicle  vast  changes.  Whether  these  changes, 
which  are  pointed  to  as  improvements,  and  as  mark- 
ing a  higher  civilization,  are  really  blessings  or 
otherwise,  depends  upon  the  result,  whether  a 
greater  and  more  inevitable  destruction  of  life  and 


63 

property  has  had  the  effect  of  leading  more  gene- 
rally to  the  substitution  of  arbitration  for  a  resort  to 
arms. 

The  percussion  cap  and  wafer,  with  their  many 
modes  of  use,  among  them  the  needle-gun,  have  su- 
perseded the  old  flint  lock ;  the  twisted  barrel  has 
replaced  the  smooth  bore  ;  the  turreted  monitor  has 
found  its  way  into  naval  architecture  in  place  of  the 
high-floating  ship  ;  the  iron  armor  has  been  substi- 
tuted for  the  wooden  sides,  and  the  light  ball  has 
yielded  its  place  to  the  ponderous  steel-pointed  mis- 
sile, charged  with  its  destructive  fulminate,  until 
the  grim  sarcasm  comes  to  have  a  peculiar  point, 
that  ships  are  made  so  strong  that  no  balls  can  pierce 
them,  and  balls  so  heavy,  and  sent  so  swiftly  that  no 
ships  can  resist  them. 

In  the  earlier  views  in  regard  to  the  actions  and 
changes  of  matter,  the  opinion  was  entertained  that 
substances  were  often  annihilated,  and  that  with  this 
ended  all  that  pertained  to  them.  Thus,  that  in  the 
burning  of  a  mass  of  coal,  by  the  combustion  it  was 
destroyed,  and  that  the  transient  heat  which  it 
evolved  after  communicating  itself  to  surrounding 
objects  was  then  dissipated  and  lost. 

Another  view  has  now  come  to  be  adopted,  this 
is,  that  seeming  destruction  of  a  body  is  only  its 
transformation  into  some  other  shape,  and  the  dis- 
appearance of  the  energy  attending  that  transmu- 
tation is  only  the  conversion  of  one  force  into  another. 
The  latter  statement  is,  in  brief,  an  expression  of  the 
modern  doctrine  of  the  "  correlation  and  conserva- 
tion of  the  physical  forces." 

The  first  step  towards  this  great  generalization  is 
doubtless  due  to  our  own  countryman,  Benjamin 


64 

Thompson,  afterwards  Count  Rumford,  whose  famous 
experiment  of  the  rotation  of  a  solid  plunger  re- 
volving within  a  hollow  cylinder  of  iron  surrounded 
by  water,  demonstrated  that  heat  might  be  pro- 
duced for  an  indefinite  length  of  time  by  continuous 
friction,  and  led  him  to  the  sagacious  conclusion  that 
the  motion,  was  actually  converted  into  heat;  in  other 
words,  that  the  visible  motion  of  the  revolving  mass 
was  changed  by  the  friction  into  a  vibratory  motion 
of  the  particles  of  the  apparatus  and  surrounding 
water,  and  that  this  latter  motion  constituted  the 
heat  developed,  that  is,  that  heat  is  but  a  "mode  of 
motion" 

This  conclusion,  in  recent  years  confirmed  by 
various  researches  and  by  like  processes  of  experi- 
ment and  mathematical  analysis,  through  the  labors 
of  Mayer,  Joule,  Grove,  Wm.  Thompson,  Helmholtz, 
Clausius,  Faraday,  and  Tyndall,  has  been  developed 
into  a  comprehensive  law  now  universally  accepted, 
a  law  which  embraces  not  only  mechanical  power 
and  heat,  but  also  light,  electricity,  magnetism, 
and  chemical  action  in  one  grand  bond  of  mutual 
correlation  or  equivalency. 

To  complete  the  list  of  topics  that  might  come 
within  the  province  of  the  duty  assigned  me,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  transfer  to  my  pages  the 
contents  of  the  scientific  and  practical  journals  of  the 
world.  I  will,  therefore,  close  the  enumeration  by 
naming,  without  adhering  to  chronological  order, 
only  a  few  out  of  the  many  that  have  a  claim  to 
consideration.  Thus,  the  mechanical  mowers  and 
reapers,  the  Ericsson  air-engine,  the  gas-engines  of 
Lenoir  and  Hugon,  the  infinite  variety  of  sewing 
machines,  the  fog-horn,  street  railways,  the  ice  ma- 


65 

chine,  the  sand  blast  of  the  Tilghman  Brothers,  the 
gunpowder  pile-driver,  the  manufacture  of  carbonate 
of  sodium  by  Le  Blanc's  process,  and  the  revival  of  an 
old  process  by  the  reaction  between  carbonate  of  am- 
monium and  chloride  of  sodium,  the  manufacture  of 
lucifer  matches,  the  preservation  of  meats  and  vege- 
tables, the  silvering  of  glass  by  metallic  silver  instead 
of  by  mercury,  the  introduction  of  carbolic  acid  and 
the  permanganate  of  potassium  as  disinfectants,  the 
preparation  of  oxygen  by  the  continuous  method, 
and  of  chlorine  by  the  revival  of  the  binoxide  of 
manganese.  And  in  connection  with  education,  the 
creation  of  institutions  for  instruction  in  applied 
sciences,  of  Institutes  of  Technology  (16).  And,  lastly, 
in  the  noble  field  of  benevolence,  the  introduction 
of  the  humane  and  merciful  treatment  of  those  de- 
prived of  reason,  in  place  of  the  cruelties  of  the 
strait  jacket  and  the  terrors  of  the  ducking  stool. 

Did  time  permit,  I  would  attempt  to  recall  to 
your  minds  in  detail,  however  imperfect  the  effort, 
wherein  this  Institute  has  done  its  part,  but 
to  do  this  I  should  weary  your  patience.  I  will, 
therefore,  simply  refer  to  the  experiments  it  has 
conducted  in  the  investigation  of  the  strength  of 
materials;  to  its  careful  search  into  the  causes  of 
steam-boiler  explosions ;  to  the  numerous  reports  of 
its  committees  upon  matters  within  its  province;  to 
its  library  of  valuable  scientific  and  practical  works 
for  consultation ;  its  collections  of  minerals  and 
models,  the  one  a  help  and  to  give  incentive  to  the 
study  of  an  important  practical  branch  of  natural 
science  bearing  upon  mining  interests,  the  other 
facilitating  inventive  talent ;  to  the  courses  of  in- 
structive lectures  delivered  during  each  winter 


66 

upon  physics,  chemistry,  geology,  and  other  scien- 
tific and  practical  branches;  to  its  monthly  meet- 
ings for  the  reading  and  discussion  of  papers  upon 
science  and  the  arts,  and  the  exhibition  of  novel 
inventions ;  and  then  to  those  unseen  but  deeply 
felt  influences  which  it  has  exerted,  in  aiding  seekers 
after  information  in  various  directions  of  thought, 
by  guiding  them  to  persons  and  authors  best  capable 
of  supplying  their  wants. 

I  would  refer  also  to  its  Drawing  School,  where 
large  numbers  of  young  men  and  women  nightly  re- 
sort, for  the  acquirement,  under  able  instructors,  of 
that  art  so  valuable  in  almost  every  walk  of  life. 

And,  lastly,  to  its  Journal,  the  pioneer  reporter 
of  the  mechanic  arts  in  this  country,  which,  keep- 
ing pace  with  the  progress  of  science  and  industry, 
is  to-day  a  living  representative  of  many  of  the 
largest  interests  of  our  country.  With  such  a  record 
of  the  past,  may  not  our  Institute  anticipate  yet 
brighter  prospects  in  the  future,  and  should  we  not 
all  exclaim  in  earnest  words,  "  Esto  perpetua"  ? 

APPENDIX. 

(1)  In  1763  James  Watt,  of  Greenock,  Scotland,  devised  his 
first  form  of  low  pressure  Steam  Engine.  In  this  engine  the 
steam  was  condensed  directly  within  the  steam  cylinder. 

In  1765  he  introduced  the  use  of  a  separate  condenser,  thereby 
greatly  economizing  the  steam.  In  this  form  it  was  single  act- 
ing— that  is,  it  received  the  steam  on  but  one  side  of  the  piston, 
and  was  only  adapted  to  the  purposes  of  pumping. 

In  1784  he  caused  the  steam  to  act  upon  both  sides  of  the  piston, 
and  thus  invented  the  double-acting  engine. 

Between  this  date  and  1800  he  added  many  important  details — 
improved  the  system  of  condensation,  and  finally  added  the  cut- 
off by  which  the  steam  could  be  used  expansively,  thus  perfect- 
ing the  machine  which,  in  its  great  principles  has  not  since  been 
displaced. 


67 

(2)  Long  anterior  to  this  period  Oliver  Evans,  of  Philadelphia, 
employed  a  single  large  tube  or  flue  passing  through  his  boilers, 
to  enable  the  heated  products  of  combustion  to  act  more  efficiently 
on  the  water. 

It  is  due  to  this  highly  gifted  inventor  to  state  that  he  was  the 
first  to  put  into  practical  application  the  use  of  high  steam,  in 
what  is  now  known  as  the  high-pressure  steam-engine  —  and 
that  he  is  also  a  competitor  for  the  honor  of  having  first  applied 
the  paddle  wheel  to  the  propulsion  of  boats. 

Prof.  Tresca,  of  the  Conservatoire  des  Arts  et  Metiers,  Paris, 
in  his  Treatise  on  the  Steam  Engine,  awards  to  Joel  Barlow, 
author  of  the  "Columbiad,"  the  credit  of  priority  in  the  inven- 
tion of  the  Multitubular  Boiler. 

A  gentleman  who  has  had  access  to  the  original  papers  of 
Oliver  Evans,  has  furnished  the  following  statement,  which  I 
deem  it  proper  to  here  quote  : — 

"  The  first  essential  to  the  modern  locomotive,  is  the  high  pres- 
sure steam-engine,  and  British  writers  generally  accord  it  to 
Messrs.  Trevithick  and  Vivian,  who  in  1802,  took  out  in  England 
a  patent  therefor ;  but,  in  the  American  edition  of  the  2d  English 
edition  of  Wood's  'Treatise  on  Railroads,'  1831,  Messrs.  Tre- 
vithick and  Vivian  are  distinctly  charged  with  having  copied, 
without  acknowledgment,  the  plans  and  specifications  of  Oliver 
Evans,  which  in  1794-5  were  sent  by  him  to  England,  in  charge 
of  Mr.  Joseph  Stacy  Sampson.  I  also  find  that  in  a  work  entitled 
the  'Young  Steam  Engineer's  Guide,'  written  by  Oliver  Evans, 
and  published  in  Philadelphia  in  1805,  Mr.  Evans  speaks  of 
having  in  1794-5,  sent  'drawings,  specifications,  and  explana- 
tions' of  his  plans  to  England,  '  to  be  shown  to  steam  engineers.' 
Mr.  Evans  also  speaks  of  Mr.  Joseph  Stacy  Sampson,  of  Boston, 
who,  he  states,  carried  the  papers  to  England,  and  '  died  there, 
but  the  papers  may  have  survived.' 

"The  multitubular  boiler,  which,  next  to  the  high -pressure 
engine,  forms  the  most  essential  part  of  the  steam  carriage,  is  by 
Smiles,  who  wrote  in  1857,  accorded  to  George  Stephenson,  but 
I  find  that  both  Nicholas  Wood,  and  Dr.  Lardner  (high  British 
authorties  on  the  steam-engine),  who  respectively  wrote  in  1831 
and  1835,  distinctly  declare  the  multitubular  boiler  to  be  due  to 
Mr.  Booth,  Treasurer  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway, 
who  they  state  suggested  to  Mr.  Stephenson  the  use  of  the  tubes, 
to  conduct  the  heated  air  through  the  boiler  of  his  engine — the 
*  Rocket'— which  won  the  prize  in  the  competitive  test  on  the 


68    . 

Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway.  Indeed,  both  Mr.  Wood 
and  Dr.  Lardner  concur  in  stating,  that  a  portion  of  the  £500 
prize  won  by  the  '  Rocket'  was  paid  to  Mr.  Booth. 

"  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  multitubular  boiler  in  all  its  essen- 
tial particulars  existed  in  America  almost  one-third  of  a  century 
before  its  introduction  into  Great  Britain.  The  boiler  which 
Oliver  Evans  had  devised  to  generate  steam  for  his  high-pressure 
engine  had  a  tube  to  conduct  the  heated  air  through  the  water, 
and  in  1803  John  Stevens,  of  Hoboken,  New  Jersey,  took  out  a 
patent  for  a  boiler  composed  entirely  of  tubes,  which,  in  1805, 
he  also  patented  in  England.  A  boiler  constructed  by  Mr.  Stevens 
was  *  2  feet  long,  15  inches  wide,  and  10  or  12  inches  high,  and 
consisted  of  81  tubes,  2  feet  long,  and  1  inch  in  diameter.'  But, 
unfortunately,  all  of  these  tubes  were  filled  with  heated  water 
instead  of  heated  air. 

"In  1791,  Col.  James  Rumsey,  of  Virginia,  took  out  a  patent  for 
a  boiler  consisting  of  'homogeneous  incurvated  tubes.'  Plans 
and  specifications  of  all  three  of  these  boilers  found  their  way  to 
England  ;  Col.  Rumsey 's  as  early  as  1792-3.  Is  it  too  much  to 
surmise,  that  the  principles  of  construction  they  severally  devel- 
oped, ultimately  suggested  the  multitubular  boiler  of  the  existing 
locomotive  ? 

"Smiles  claims  for  Stephenson  the  introduction  of  the  exhaust 
steam  in  the  chimney  stack,  for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the 
draught  of  the  furnace,  but  Nicholas  Wood  writes  that  in  '  the 
introduction  of  those  engines  it  was  necessary  to  resort  to  the 
application  of  waste  steam  thrown  upwards  to  create  a  sufficient 
current  of  air  through  the  fire. '  It  seems  that  to  Mr.  Hackworth, 
rather  than  to  Mr.  Stephenson,  we  are  indebted  for  the  complete 
development  of  the  principle. 

"Smiles  claims  for  Stephenson  the  discovery  that  sufficient 
adhesion  existed  between  the  wheels  of  the  steam  carriage  and 
the  rails  for  the  purpose  of  locomotion,  but  Nicholas  Wood,  who 
was  present  when  Stephenson's  engine  was  tried,  accords  the  credit 
to  Mr.  Blackett,  and,  speaking  of  Mr.  Stephenson's  engine,  writes, 
'grooved  sheaves  were  fixed  upon  the  hinder  travelling  wheels 
of  the  engine,  and  similar  grooved  sheaves  upon  the  fore  wheels 
of  the  convoy  carriage  containing  the  coals  and  water,  with  an 
endless  chain,  working  over  each,  to  procure  the  adhesion  of  the 
wheels  of  the  convoy  carriage,  in  addition  to  the  adhesion  of  the 
engine  wheels  ;  but  on  trial  it  was  not  found  necessary  to  resort 
to  the  aid  of  this  contrivance.' 


69 

"  In  short,  if  Nicholas  "Wood,  Dr.  Lardner,  and  others  who 
wrote  nearly  one-fourth  of  a  century  before  Smiles,  made  truthful 
record,  the  locomotive  owes  but  little  to  the  inventive  genius  of 
Mr.  Stephenson.  Grave  doubts  exist  as  to  the  validity  of  every 
important  claim  advanced  by  Smiles  for  him  as  the  author,  or 
even  improver  of  the  steam  carriage.  Mr.  Stephenson  doubtless 
acted  an  important  part  in  executing  the  inventions  of  other  and 
more  ingenious  minds.  But  that,  and  that  alone,  appears  to  have 
been  the  full  extent  of  the  services  he  rendered. 

"  But  to  return  to  Oliver  Evans,  of  whom  the  Mechanic's  Maga- 
zine, published  in  London  in  1850,  speaks  as  the  'first  projector 
of  steam  travelling. '  It  appears  from  the  preface  to  the  American 
edition  of  Wood  on  Railroads,  that  before  the  termination  of  the 
18th  century,  Mr.  Evans  '  urged  the  adoption  of  railways  and 
locomotives  in  lieu  of  canals.'  The  same  authority  declares,  that 
4  Mr.  Evans  urged  in  repeated  addresses  to  the  public,  the  con- 
struction of  a  railroad  from  Philadelphia  to  New  York,  and  in 
1809  attempted  to  form  a  company  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  it, 
purposing  the  investment  of  his  whole  fortune  in  the  enterprise. ' 

"  In  orderto  accomplish  his  purpose,  Oliver  Evans — ruthlessly, 
as  it  were — stripped  from  the  steam-engine-  the  condenser  and  air 
pumps,  inventions  of  the  celebrated  James  Watt,  which  by  him 
and  the  world  wrere  thought  to  be  absolutely  essential  thereto. 
Mr.  Evans  retained  the  valve  movement  due  Mr.  Watt,  with  the 
exception  that  he  introduced  the  cut-off,  and  '  thus  (to  use  his 
own  words)  the  piston  is  driven  by  strong  puffs  of  steam,  the 
same  that  the  air-gun  drives  its  bullets.' 

"  He  declared  his  improvement  to  be  so  great '  as  to  be  without 
a  parallel,'  but  the  opponents  of  innovation  were  a  formidable 
obstacle  to  its  introduction.  Mr.  Evans  writes  that '  those  learned 
in  error  on  this  subject  oppose  their  theories,  corollaries  and 
demonstrations ;  those  who  are  well  versed  in  the  principles  of 
Watt  and  Bolton's  engine,  oppose  their  darling  vacuums.  The 
English  steam  engineers  bring  forward  their  cocks,  induction 
pipes,  air  pumps,  hot  wells,  sniffling  valves,  etc.  etc.'  At  length 
Mr.  John  Harrison,  Messrs.  Richards  &  Simmons,  and  Messrs. 
Burtis,  Moore  &  Keen,  all  of  Philadelphia,  purchased  his  engines, 
and  they  worked  so  satisfactorily,  that  each  of  the  parties  indi- 
cated concurred  in  publicly  declaring  over  their  respective  signa- 
tures, 'that  they  would  rather  pay  Oliver  Evans  the  price  of  one 
of  his  engines,  than  accept  as  a  present  one  of  English  construc- 
tion.' Edward  Mason,  Jr.,  Daniel  Bates,  Hercules  Whitney, 


70 

Henry  C.  Coffin,  and  Isaac  Stanford,  all  of  Providence,  Rhode 
Island,  who  were  mutually  concerned  in  works  which  they  stated 
required  'great  power,'  did  also  over  their  signatures  declare 
that  they  had  two  of  Oliver  Evans's  engines  at  work,  that  they 
had  compared  it  with  Bolton  and  Watt's,  '  and  after  satisfactory 
investigation  we  gave  Mr.  Evans's  the  preference,  and  have  had 
it  a  sufficient  time  at  work  to  prove  its  real  worth,  durability,  and 
cheapness  compared  with  others.'  They  added  that  'his  method 
of  warming  apartments  by  the  heat  of  the  steam  of  the  engine 
we  consider  a  new  and  valuable  discovery,  consequently  the  ex- 
pense of  fuel  chargeable  to  the  engine  is  proportionably  reduced.' 

"From  that  time  forward  the  use  of  Mr.  Evans's  engine  be- 
came general,  and  to-day  it  has  so  completely  superseded  that  of 
Mr.  Watt,  that  with  the  exception  of  some  engine  for  a  steam- 
boat on  the  rivers  running  into  the  Atlantic,  the  low-pressure 
engine  is  almost  unknown  in  the  United  States. 

"In  the  absence  of  railways  in  the  United  States,  Mr.  Evans 
proposed  to  introduce  the  steam  carriage  on  turnpike  roads,  and 
to  that  end  made  a  proposition  to  the  President  and  Directors  of 
the  Lancaster  Turnpike  Company.  The  original  draft  of  the 
proposition  is  on  my  table  as  I  write.  It  is  dated  September  26th, 
1804.  With  his  proposition,  he  directed  attention  to  his  inven- 
tions and  improvements  for  the  manufacture  of  flour,  also  to  his 
inventions  for  making  wire  cards  by  machinery,  etc.  etc.  He 
said,  'This  statement  I  make  to  you,  to  show,  that  I  have 
always  hitherto  been  successful  in  my  mechanical  improvements, 
and  have  never  once  failed  in  any  attempt.'  But  he  did  fail  to 
induce  the  company  to  cooperate.  The  elevator,  that  to-day  is  so 
much  used  for  the  handling  of  grain,  was  one  of  his  inventioDS. 
Some  years  before  his  death,  Oliver  Evans  offered  to  build  a 
steam  carriage  that,  on  a  level  railway,  should  run  fifteen  miles 
an  hour,  for  double  price,  if  it  attained  that  speed,  and  nothing 
if  it  did  not.  At  the  date  of  this  offer  (and  for  many  years  after- 
wards) the  highest  speed  of  the  best  English  engines  was  but 
seven  miles  per  hour.  But  to  his  family,  and  to  his  intimates, 
he  spoke  of  a  much  higher  rate  of  speed.  A  gentleman  has  in- 
formed the  writer,  that  when  he  was  a  youth,  Mr.  Evans  de- 
clared to  Judge  Peters,  and  other  gentlemen  present,  '  this  boy, 
(putting  his  hand  on  the  boy's  head)  '  will  live  to  ride  behind  one 
of  my  engines  as  fast  as  a  bird  can  fly,'  'which  prediction,'  my 
informant  said,  '  I  have  lived  to  see  verified.'  It  is  due  to 
British  writers  to  state,  that  some  of  them  have  gone  beyond  the 


71 

patent  of  Trevithick  and  Vivian,  and  have  frankly  conceded  the 
high  pressure  engine  to  Oliver  Evans. 

"I  have  thrown  the  foregoing  facts  together  ;  perhaps  at  some 
future  day  a  more  detailed  narrative  will  show  the  enormous  ma- 
terial benefits  that  this  country — and  indeed  the  entire  civilized 
world — owes  to  the  inventive  genius,  and  unrequited  labors  of 
Oliver  Evans." 

But  Mr.  Evans  never  lived  to  see  his  darling  project  of  steam 
travelling  by  rail  fulfilled  in  the  United  States. 

He  died  in  1819. 

(3)  Mr.  Joseph  Harrison,  Jr.,  of  Philadelphia,  of  the  firm  of 
Eastwick  &   Harrison,   in  1839,   at  the  instance   of  Moncure 
Robinson,  Esq.,  Civil  Engineer  of  the  Reading  R.  R.  Company, 
designed  a  new  locomotive,  intended  to  have  great  power  for 
the  heavy  freighting  purposes  of  that  company.      This  engine 
was  called  the  "Gowan  and  Marx."     It  weighed  eleven  tons, 
which  was  heavy  for  that  day,  but  light  as  compared  with  those 
of  the  present. 

By  the  method  of  disposing  of  the  weight  upon  the  "  drivers," 
it  drew  one  hundred  and  one  loaded  cars.  This  was  a  most  valu- 
able step  towards  the  settlement  of  the  problem  of  cheap  trans- 
portation of  heavy  freights  on  railroads. 

(4)  M.  Moncure  Robinson  a  fait  construire  pour  le  chemin  de 
fer  de  Philadelphie  a  Pottsville  par  Reading,  qui  est  destine  a 
transporter  beaucoup  de  charbon,  des  locomotives  non-seulement 
a  six  roues,  mais  a  huit  partagees  de  meme  en  deux  trains,  et 
d'une  force  tres-grande.     On  estime  que  leur  puissance  de  trac- 
tion ira  a  400  tonnes  avec  tine  faible  vitesse. 

Une  de  ces  machines,  le  Gowan  et  Marx,  a  pour  diametre  des 
cylindres  Om.322  ;  la  course  du  piston  est  de  Om.406.  C'est  la  plus 
lourde  des  machines  de  la  compagnie,  et  celle  dont  les  cylindres 
ont  le  plus  grand  diametre.  Cependant,  a  vide,  elle  ne  pese  que 
9812  kilog.,  et  en  marche  que  11,100  kilog.  Elle  es  bien  loin, 
comme  on  voit,  de  celles  qu'on  emploie  aujourd'hui  sur  les  che- 
miiis  de  fer  de  T  Europe.  Ainsi  la  compagnie  de  Saint -Germain 
a  Paris  a  des  machines  a  detente  dont  le  poids  a  tide  es  de  16,500 
kilog.,  et  ou  les  cylindres  ont  un  diametre  de  Om.38.  Avec  de 
fortes  machines  comme  celles-ci,  on  obtiendrait  sur  le  chemin  de 
fer  de  Philadelphie  a  Mount  Carbon  des  result ats  plus  satisfais- 
ants  encore  que  ceux  qui  vont  etre  indiques. 


72 

(5)  "On  one  of  its  trips  (February  20th,  1840),  it  drew  a  train 
of  one  hundred  and  one  four-wheel  loaded  cars  from  Reading  to 
Philadelphia,  at  an  average  speed  of  9.82-f  miles  per  hour,  nine 
miles  of  the  road  being  a  continuous  level.  The  gross  load  on 
this  occasion  was  423  tons,  not  including  the  engine  and  tender, 
which,  if  the  weight  of  the  tender  is  counted,  equalled  forty  times 
the  weight  of  the  engine." 

See  "Journal  of  Franklin  Institute,"  1840,  vol.  25,  page  99, 
Report  of  G.  N.  Nichols,  Supt.  Philadelphia  and  Reading  Rail- 
road, which  closes  as  follows:  "The  above  performance  of  an 
eleven  ton  engine  is  believed  to  excel  any  on  record  in  this  or  any 
other  country.  It  may  be  doubted  whether  it  has  been  excelled 
since. 

"How  strangely  this  feat  of  the  Gowan  and  Marx  compares  with 
the  trials  on  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railroad  in  October, 
1829,  but  ten  years  before,  when  all  that  was  required  of  the  com- 
peting locomotives  was,  that  they  should  draw  about  three  times 
their  own  weightt  tender  included,  on  a  level  track,  five  miles 
long,  especially  prepared  for  the  trial.  The  great  success  of  the 
Gowan  and  Marx,  induced  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  Rail- 
road Company  to  duplicate  the  plan  of  this  engine  in  ten  engines 
subsequently  built  at  Lowell,  Mass. 

"  In  1840,  the  Gowan  and  Marx  attracted  the  particular  atten- 
tion of  the  Russian  engineers,  Colonels  Melnikoff  and  KrafFt,  who 
had  been  commissioned  by  the  Emperor  Nicholas  to  examine  into 
and  report  upon  the  various  systems  of  railroads  and  railroad 
machinery  then  in  operation  in  this  country  and  in  Europe. 

"  The  result  of  their  examination  was  favorable  to  the  American 
system,  and  when  the  engineers  above  named  made  their  report 
on  the  construction  of  a  railroad  from  St.  Petersburg  to  Moscow, 
an  engine  upon  the  plan  of  the  Gowan  and  Marx  was  recom- 
mended as  best  adapted  to  the  purposes  of  this  first  great  line  of 
railroad  in  the  Empire  of  Russia,  and  Eastwick  and  Harrison 
were  requested  to  visit  St.  Petersbu^  with  the  view  of  making  a 
contract  for  building  the  locomotives  and  other  machinery  for  the 
road. 

"  Mr.  Harrison  went  to  St.  Petersburg  in  the  spring  of  1843,  and 
in  connection  with  Mr.  Thomas  Winans,  of  Baltimore,  a  contract 
was  concluded  with  the  government  of  Russia,  at  the  close  of  the 
same  year,  for  building  162  locomotives,  and  iron  trucks  for  2500 
freight  cars.  Mr.  Eastwick  joined  Mr.  Harrison  and  Mr.  Winans 
at  St.  Petersburg  in  1844." 


73 

(6)  Although  the  propeller  in  its  cruder  forms  had  been  at- 
tempted many  years  before,  no  practically  successful  application 
of  the  screw  seems  to  have  been  made  until  1836  and  1837.     At 
which  time  the  result  was  accomplished  by  Sir  Francis  Pettit 
Smith  and  Captain  John  Ericsson  respectively,  between  whose 
claims  of  priority  there  has  been  a  difference  of  opinion. 

"  Within  the  past  ten  years  the  screw  has  entirely  replaced  the 
paddle  in  transatlantic  navigation,  the  weight  of  marine  engines 
has  decreased  one-half,  the  steam  pressure  has  quadrupled,  and 
the  consumption  of  coal  has  diminished  two-thirds."  (North 
American  and  United  States  Gazette.) 

For  further  information  on  this  subject  the  reader  is  referred  to 
the  "Encyclopaedia  Britannica,"  Article  "Steam  Navigation," 
and  Bourne's  "History  of  Screw  Propulsion." 

(7)  The  Sinus  left  London  for  New  York  April  4th,  1838,  and 
arrived  at  New  York  April  22d,  making  the  clear  voyage  in 
seventeen  days. 

The  Great  Western  left  Bristol  on  April  7th,  1838— three  days 
later — and  reached  New  York  on  the  23d,  making  the  voyage  in 
fifteen  days. 

(8)  Of  these  presses  the  Walter  seems  to  take  precedence  in 
rapidity  of  work  and  simplicity  of  construction. 

The  inventors  of  the  Walter  Printing  Press  claim  for  it  the 
following  points : — 

"1st.  It  is  a  perfecting  machine — printing  on  both  sides  at  the 
rate  of  12,000  copies  per  hour,  or  from  10,000  to  11,000,  including 
stoppages.  Ample  provision  has  been  made  for  overcoming  the 
difficulties  of  set-off;  and,  as  there  are  only  four  composition 
rollers  used,  and  great  care  has  been  taken  to  make  the  cutting 
and  delivering  processes  certain,  the  liability  to  interruption  is 
reduced  to  a  minimum.  When  changing  from  one  reel  to  another, 
the  arrangements  are  such  that  the  delay  scarcely  exceeds  a 
minute,  and  the  reels  are  kept  as  large  as  possible  for  convenient 
handling. 

"2d.  The  labor  employed  when  the  Walter  Press  is  in  opera- 
tion consists  of  two  lads  taking  off,  who  suffice  to  expect  and 
count  each  sheet,  and  a  striker  to  start  the  machine  and  look 
after  the  reels  as  they  are  unwound.  One  overseer  can  easily 
superintend  two  presses ;  capable  of  turning  out,  with  six  un- 
skilled hands,  perfected  sheets  at  the  rate  of  from  20,000  to  22,000 
6 


74 

per  hour,  stoppages  included.  With  four  of  these  presses — twelve 
lads  and  two  overseers — '  The  Times'  is  now  printed  at  the  rate 
of  more  than  40,000  copies  per  hour ;  («.  <?.)  in  less  than  half  the 
time  and  with  one-fifth  the  number  of  hands  required  by  the 
fastest  and  best  printing  machines  previously  in  use.  Moreover, 
layers-on,  who  are  highly-trained  workmen,  and  must  be  paid 
accordingly,  are  entirely  dispensed  with. 

"3d.  Attention  is  directed  to  the  extreme  simplicity  of  the 
Walter  Press  in  all  its  details.  There  is  nothing  about  it  liable, 
with  the  usual  ordinary  care,  to  get  out  of  order ;  while  a  practi- 
cally unlimited  rate  of  production  is  secured  by  the  repetition  of 
stereotype  plates  on  additional  machines  to  any  extent  that  may 
be  required.  Thus,  newspapers  of  large  circulation  can  be  printed 
with  maximum  economy  of  time  and  labor,  and  with  a  freedom 
from  risk  in  the  process  of  production  never  before  attainable. 
The  waste  of  paper  may  be  stated  at  5-  per  cent.,  but  in  connection 
with  the  change  of  system  newspaper  proprietors  and  printers 
will  at  once  find  that  they  obtain  a  knowledge  of  the  kind  of 
article  which  is  supplied  by  their  papermakers — how  it  counts 
and  weighs  per  ream,  and  what  degree  of  uniformity  it  is  pro- 
duced— never  before  realized.  There  is  a  considerable  saving  of 
ink  also,  and  in  blankets  and  rollers.  The  exclusive  use  of 
stereotype  plates  releases  the  ordinary  type  from  all  wear  and 
tear ;  so  that  a  fount  lasts  at  least  ten  times  as  long  as  it  could 
under  the  former  system.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  with 
the  Walter  Press  the  register  must  be  practically  perfect." 

The  Walter  Press  is  used  by  the  London  Times,  London  Daily 
News,  Edinburgh  Scotsman,  also  by  a  paper  in  Manchester,  New 
York  Times,  and  St.  Louis  Republican. 

(9)  "Mr.  Wm.  Sturgeon,  a  native  of  London,  about  the  year 
1825,  discovered  that  when  wires  of  soft  iron  were  placed  within 
the  coil  of  a  conducting  wire,  they  were  rendered  intensely  mag- 
netic."— Annals  of  PMlos.,  vol.  xii.  p.  359. 

"Our  knowledge  of  this  subject  was  afterwards  greatly  ex- 
tended during  the  period  from  1828  to  1831,  by  the  researches  of 
Professor  Henry,  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  at 
Washington." 

"The  instrument  first  used  by  Professor  Henry,  in  1828,  to  illus- 
trate electro-magnetic  action,  consisted  of  an  iron  bar,  two  inches 
square,  twenty  inches  long,  bent  in  a  horse-shoe  form,  and  weigh- 
ing 21  pounds.  The  keeper  weighed  7  pounds,  and  540  feet  of 
insulated  copper  wire  were  wound  in  nine  coils  of  60  feet  each 


75 

around  the  horse -shoe  shaped  bar  of  soft  iron.  From  the  experi- 
ments which  he  made  with  it,  he  proved  that  a  small  battery  is  ca- 
pable of  producing  great  magnetic  effects,  if  the  spirals  of  the  coil 
are  numerous,  and  the  resistance  to  the  passage  of  electricity  is 
not  very  great.  He  also  showed  the  effect  of  varying  the  lengths 
of  the  conducting  wires  and  the  intensity  of  the  current,  and  found 
that  six  short  wires  were  more  powerful  than  three  of  double  the 
length.  When  the  current  was  made  to  pass  through  all  of  the 
nine  coils,  the  magnet  raised  seven  hundred  and  fifty  pounds. 

"  Subsequently,  Professor  Henry  constructed  two  of  the  largest 
and  most  powerful  instruments  of  this  kind  at  present  known. 
One  now  in  the  cabinet  of  Yale  College,  weighing  59£  pounds, 
which  sustained  a  weight  of  2063  pounds ;  another,  belonging  to 
the  cabinet  of  Princeton  College,  N.  J.,  of  100  pounds  weight, 
which  could  support  3500  pounds,  or  one  and  a  half  tons." 

(10)  Prof.  Henry  says  that,  "in  1833,  nothing  remained  to  be 
discovered  in  order  to  reduce  the  proposition  of  the  electro-mag- 
netic telegraph  to  practice.     I  had  shown  that  the  attraction  of 
an  armature  could  be  produced  at  any  distance,  and  had  designed 
the  kind  of  a  battery  and  coil  around  the  magnet  to  be  used  for 
this  purpose.    I  had  also  pointed  out  the  fact  of  the  applicabiliiy 
of  my  experiments  to  the  electro-magnetic  telegraph.     I  make  a 
distinction  between  the  terms  discovery  and  invention.      The 
first  relates  to  the  development  of  new  facts ;  the  second  to  the 
application  of  these  or  other  facts  to  practical  purposes." — House 
Case,  p.  93.     (See  Lectures  on  Magnetic  Telegraph,  by  Laurence 
Turnbull,  M.D.,  p.  39.) 

(11)  The  most  improved  forms  of  the  magneto-electric  machines 
are  those  of  Holmes,  of  Siemens,  of  Wild,  of  Ladd,  and  of 
Gramme. 

(12)  While  speaking  of  the  Battery,  let  us  not  forget  nor  ignore 
the  inventions  of  one  of  the  benefactors  of  science  of  our  own 
country,  who,  a  little  more  than  fifty  years  ago,  feeling  deeply 
the  want  of  more  convenient  forms,  devised  arrangements,  which 
were,  at  that  time,  by  far  the  most  perfect  which  had  been  con- 
structed. 

I  refer  to  the  Calorimotor,  Deflagrator,  and  Tilting  Batteries 
of  Dr.  Robert  Hare,  late  Professor  of  Chemistry  in  the  Medical 
Department  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  described  in 
1819. 


76 

The  various  forms  of  the  modern  non-constant  Battery,  in 
which  either  the  plates  are  lowered  into  the  liquid,  or  the  liquid 
is  lifted  to  the  plates,  are  in  mechanical  principle  but  a  reproduc- 
tion of  his  Calorimotor  and  Deflagrator,  affording  but  another 
illustration  where  science,  like  history,  often  repeats  itself. 

(13)  This  statement  is  true  at  least  of  Mr.  Alvan  Clark's  great 
refractor  lately  erected  in  the  National  Observatory,  Washing- 
ton. 

RECLAIMER  OP  DR.  DRAPER. 

(14)  In  my  memoir  "On  the  production  of  light  by  heat"  (Phil. 
Mag.,  May,  1847),  I  established  experimentally  the  following 
facts : — 

1.  All  solid  substances  and  probably  liquids  become  incandes- 
cent at  the  same  temperature. 

2.  The  thermometric  point  at  which  some  substances  become 
red  hot  is  about  977  Fahrenheit  degrees. 

3.  The  spectrum  of  an  incandescent  solid  is  continuous  ;   it 
contains  neither  bright  nor  dark  fixed  lines. 

4.  From  common  temperatures  nearly  up  to  977°  F.,  the  rays 
emitted  by  a  solid  are  invisible.     At  that  temperature  they  are 
red,  and  the  heat  of  the  incandescing  body  being  made  conti- 
nuously to  increase,  other  rays  are  added,  increasing  in  refrangi- 
bility  as  the  temperature  rises. 

5.  Whilst  the  addition  of  rays  so  much  the  more  refrangible  as 
the  temperature  is  higher  is  taking  place,  there  is  an  augmenta- 
tion in  the  intensity  of  those  already  existing. 

This  memoir  was  published  in  both  American  and  European 
journals.  An  analysis  of  it  was  read  in  Italian  before  the  Royal 
Academy  of  Sciences  at  Naples,  July,  1847,  by  M.  Melloni, 
which  was  also  translated  into  French  and  English. 

Thirteen  years  subsequently  M.  Kirchhoff  published  his  cele- 
brated memoir  "On  the  relations  between  the  coefficients  of 
emission  and  absorption  of  bodies  for  light  and  heat."  A  trans- 
lation of  this  memoir  may  be  found  in  the  Philosophical 
Magazine,  July,  1860. 

In  this  memoir,  under  the  guise  of  mathematical  deductions, 
M.  Kirchhoff,  taking  as  his  starting-point  the  condition  discovered 
by  Angstrom  in  1854,  respecting  the  relations  between  the 
emitting  and  absorbing  powers  of  different  bodies  for  light  and 
heat,  among  other  things  deduces  the  following  facts.  I  give 
them  as  they  are  succinctly  stated  by  M.  Jamin  in  his  "  Cours 
de  Physique  de  1'ecole  Polytechnique"  (1869). 


77 

1.  Ail  bodies  begin  to  be  red-hot  at  the  same  moment  in  the 
same  space,  and  become  white-hot  at  the  same  time. 

2.  Black  bodies  begin  to  emit  red  rays  near  525°  C.  (977°  F.) 

3.  The  spectrum  of  solids  and  liquids  is  devoid  of  fixed  lines. 

4.  The  rays  first  emitted  by  black  bodies  are  red  ;  to  these 
are  added  successively  and  continually  other  rays,  increasing  in 
refrangibility  as  the  temperature  rises. 

In  his  celebrated  memoir,  and  in  subsequent  publications  on 
the  history  of  spectrum  analysis,  M.  Kirchhoff  abstains  from 
drawing  attention  to  the  coincidences  I  am  here  pointing  out, 
except  that  in  a  foot-note  to  his  memoir  he  makes  in  a  single 
word  allusion  to  mine.  But  from  this  no  one  would  infer  what 
were  really  the  facts  of  the  case,  and  accordingly  in  the  biblio- 
graphical lists  subsequently  published,  in  works  on  spectrum 
analysis,  such  as  those  of  Prof.  Roscoe  and  Dr.  Schellen,  my 
memoir  is  not  noticed. 

I  earnestly  solicit  those  who  take  an  interest  in  the  history 
of  spectrum  analysis  to  compare  my  memoir  in  the  Philosophical 
Magazine,  May,  1847,  with  those  published  by  M.  Kirchhoff 
thirteen  years  subsequently,  on  the  radiating  and  absorbing 
powers  of  bodies  (Phil.  Mag.,  July,  1860),  and  on  the  history 
of  spectrum  analysis  (Phil.  Mag.,  April,  1863). 

JOHN  WILLIAM  DRAPER. 

UNIVERSITY,  NEW  YORK,  July  8. 

(15)  Among  the  more  recent  additions  to  our  knowledge  in 
this  branch  of  science,  we  may  mention,  the  explanation  of  the 
cause  of  dissonance,  and  the  analysis  of  quality  of  tones  and  a 
physiological  theory  of  music  by  Helmholtz  ;  the  discovery  in 
the  ear  of  the  cords  of  Corti,  by  the  investigator  of  that  name, 
the  duration  of  acoustic  impressions,  and  the  mapping  of  sound 
waves,  by  Mayer,  of  the  Stevens  Institute,  Hoboken;  the  influence 
of  the  transverse  movement  of  air  upon  sound,  by  Tyndall ;  and 
the  multitude  of  instruments  for  illustrations,  constructed,  and 
many  of  them  devised,  by  Kcenig. 

(16)  A  number  of  our  institutions  of  learning  have  within  re- 
cent years  enlarged  their  scope  of  instruction,  by  associating  with 
their    classical    and    literary  department,    a    "Department    of 
Science,"  in  which  certain  practical  branches  are  taught,  and 
made  elective  by  the  student.     The  more  prominent  of  these  are, 
the  "Lawrence  Scientific  School,"  of  Harvard  ;  the  "  Sheflaeld 
Scientific  School,"  of  Yale  College  ;  the  "School  of  Mines,"  of 


78 

Columbia  College;  and  the  "  Scientific  Department,"  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania. 

Among  the  institutions  which  have  been  active  in  advancing 
the  study  of  applied  science  in  this  country,  the  Massachusetts 
Institute  of  Technology  would  seem  to  claim  especial  notice  on 
account  of  the  peculiarities  of  its  organization,  and  its  influence 
on  other  scientific  schools.  Founded  in  1861,  according  to  the 
plans,  and  under  the  direction,  of  Prof.  William  B.  Rogers,  it  set 
the  example  of  making  laboratory- work  a  chief  means  of  scien- 
tific training  even  in  the  early  stages  of  study  ;  and  was  the  first 
to  take  the  important  step,  since  so  generally  followed  in  this 
country,  of  organizing  a  '''•Physical  Laboratory^  where  the  stu- 
dent, after  being  instructed  in  the  simple  manipulations,  is  gradu- 
ally trained  to  the  more  difficult  researches  in  experimental 
physics.  See  "  Objects  and  Plan  of  an  Institute  of  Technology," 
1860,  and  "  Scope  and  Plan  of  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of 
Technology,  "'1864. 


IN  introducing  the  third  speaker,  the  President 
said,  that  about  nine  years  ago  there  was  an  attempt 
made  to  remodel  the  working  machinery,  as  it  were, 
of  the  Institute,  to  fit  it  for  a  greater  usefulness,  and 
certain  changes  were  deemed  necessary  in  the  by- 
laws. It  was  decided  to  abolish  the  offices  of  Re- 
cording and  Corresponding  Secretaries,  and  in  place 
thereof  to  appoint  a  Resident  Secretary,  who  should 
be  a  salaried  officer.  It  was  required  that  he  should 
be  a  gentleman  of  literary  and  scientific  attainments. 
Now  there  was  in  our  midst  a  young  man,  a  graduate 
of  our  university,  who  tried  to  study  law,  but  drifted 
into  science,  and  who  was  rapidly  making  for  him- 
self a  name  as  a  scientist.  He  was  selected  to  fill 
this  new  office,  and  right  well  did  he  do  so;  but 
others  saw  and  recognized  his  worth.  In  our  neigh- 
boring State  across  the  Delaware,  there  lived  for 
many  years  a  man  noted  as  an  engineer ;  at  his  death 
he  gave  from  his  great  estate  abundant  means  to* 


79 

found  a  school  for  the  teaching  of  mechanics.  The 
trustees,  having  prepared  a  suitable  building,  looked 
about  then  for  some  fitting  person  to  act  as  President, 
and  our  very  useful  secretary  soon  received  a  call  to 
take  this  position  of  greater  usefulness.  We  cannot 
but  feel  proud  that  under  his  care  this  school  for 
mechanics  has  prospered,  and  to-day  we  welcome  its 
President  to  our  midst.  Ladies  and  gentlemen,  I 
introduce  as  the  next  speaker,  Prof.  HENRY  MORTON, 
President  of  the  Stevens  Institute  of  Technology,  of 
Hoboken,  N.  J. 

ADDRESS  OF  PEOF.  HEKRY  MORTOK 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  : 

In  discussing  my  theme  this  evening  I  propose  to 
begin  at  the  beginning,  and  set  out  from  the  very 
origin  of  the  subject,  and  yet,  so  rapid  are  our  modern 
modes  of  thought  as  to  travel  that,  if  we  do  not  run 
off  the  track,  ten  minutes  will  easily  see  us  safely 
arrived  at  the  end  of  the  matter. 

My  first  proposition  is  a  brief  though  comprehen- 
sive one.  It  is  simply  this.  Ladies  and  gentlemen, 
The  earth  moves!  And  though  as  I  perceive  you 
are  not  electrified  by  this  important  statement,  I  yet 
hope  within  a  few  minutes  to  show  you  that,  taken 
in  its  i'ull  and  true  significance,  this  assertion  may 
be  as  wonder-exciting  now,  as  in  its  simpler  meaning 
it  was  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  when  a 
Galileo  only  dared  to  say  it  in  a  whisper. 

At  the  present  time  we  have  gone  far  beyond 
being  surprised  to  hear  that  the  fixed  and  solid  earth 
is  not  the  stationary  centre  of  the  universe,  and  are 
not  even  made  giddy  when  we  think  that  it  is 
spinning  at  a  rate  of  about  1000  miles  an  hour  (for 


80 

the  equator),  and  flying  around  the  sun  with  a  velocity 
of  1000  miles  a  minute,  or  about  1000  times  faste^ 
than  an  express  train  behind  time.  We  are  not  even 
shocked  to  learn  that,  beside  these  two  motions,  our 
earth,  as  part  of  the  solar  system,  is  oh  its  travels 
through  space  in  an  unknown  path  at  an  unknown 
rate;  or  as  it  may  be  otherwise  expressed,  is  one  of 
the  planetary  lambs  which  the  sun-shepherd  is  lead- 
ing through  the  celestial  fields,  browsing  as  they  go 
on  such  shooting  stars,  meteors,  or  comets  as  may 
come  within  their  reach.  Familiarity  has  enabled 
us  to  accept  as  perfectly  commonplace  and  natural, 
all  these  ideas  of  instability  arid  motion,  and  we  now 
would  only  be  astonished  if  some  one  were  to  say  to 
us  that  the  world  did  not  move. 

Aggressive  science,  however,  which  is  itself  never 
willing  to  rest,  but  makes  each  advance  only  a  new 
base  for  further  progress,  will  not  leave  us  even  here, 
but  points  us  to  an  entirely  different  class  of  motions 
and  says:  Not  only  does  the  world  and  every  object 
in  the  universe  move,  but  it  is  the  motion  of  all  matter 
which  gives  it  those  properties  by  which  we  recognize  it. 

In  other  words,  if  the  matter  of  the  universe  were 
to  be  brought  to  a  state  of  rest,  it  would  no  longer 
be  the  universe,  it  would  no  longer  be  matter  as  we 
can  comprehend  that  idea  ;  or  in  yet  other  words, 
matter  is  matter,  the  universe  is  the  universe  as 
much  by  reason  of  the  motion  of  its  individual 
atoms  as  by  reason  of  their  actual  existence. 

Example  is  better  than  precept,  and  I  will  there- 
fore take  a  case  and  give  you  two  views — the  exter- 
nal or  artistic,  and  the  interior,  or  scientific  of  the 
same  scene. 

We  are  in  a  valley  among  snow-capped  mountains, 
and  before  us  a  lake  spreads  its  mirror  to  the  sky. 


81 

"No  breath  of  air  ripples  its  surface,  no  wavelet 
breaks  upon  its  beach,  nothing  is  there  but  absolute 
repose.  So  says  the  artist,  and  painting  such  a  scene 
he  calls  his  picture  "  Silence,"  "  Repose,"  "  The  Lake 
of  Dreams,"  or  some  such  appropriate  title. 

Now,  however,  let  us  look  at  that  same  scene  with 
eyes  touched  by  the  wand  of  science,  and  opened  to 
see  beneath  the  surface  of  things.  What  do  we  then 
behold?  Is  there  any  longer  an  impression  of  re- 
pose ?  Of  rest  ?  Of  sleep  ? 

Look  at  that  mass  of  water  with  its  mirror-like 
surface.  We  see  there  a  perfect  Sebastopol  of  flying 
missiles,  water  atoms  hurled  in  clouds  from  the  sur- 
face into  the  air,  water  atoms  hurled  back  from  the 
air  into  the  water  surface.  It  is  by  such  action  as 
this,  science  shows  us,  that  evaporation  takes  place,  or 
the  invisible  though  rapid  passage  of  the  liquid  water 
into  the  viewless  air. 

The  whole  mass  of  the  water  is  likewise  thrilling 
through  with  those  heat  motions,  of  which  if  de- 
prived partially,  it  would  freeze  into  ice,  and  if 
robbed  utterly,  would  shrink  into  some  formless 
horror,  of  which  even  the  imagination  of  science  can 
form  no  picture. 

We  turn  now  to  the  breezeless  air,  and  here  again 
we  see  that  it  {5  air,  and  not  some  densest  solid,  or 
nameless  nonentity,  only  because  of  the  ceaseless 
flight  of  its  countless  molecules,  which,  rebounding, 
jostling,  ricocheting,  glancing,  but  ever  on  the  wing 
of  motion,  make  it  the  light,  elastic  fluid  which  we 
know  as  air. 

And  if  we  next  turn  to  the  towering  rocks  and 
snow-capped  peaks,  we  will  find  the  same  conditions 
in  a  modified  form.  All  undoubtedly  thrill  with 
the  quick  heat-pulse  which  is  the  very  soul  of  matter, 


82 

and  in  probability  owe  their  distinctive  character- 
istics to  peculiar  modes  of  motion  among  their  atoms. 

But  it  is  needless  to  go  further  in  this  direction. 
It  is  evident  that  in  the  view  of  science  the  "  universe 
of  matter"  is  as  truly  the  "  universe  of  motion." 

^Realizing  this  fact,  is  there  any  evident  deduction 
to  be  drawn  that  bears  upon  the  object  which  has 
brought  us  together  this  evening  ? 

Placed  as  rulers  and  as  student  of  this  universe  of 
matter  in  motion,  and  becoming  rulers  and  masters 
of  its  resources  just  in  proportion  as  we  are  apt  and 
faithful  students,  what  is  the  branch  of  study  to 
which  we  should  most  devote  our  attention  ?  Evi- 
dently that  which  treats  of  matter  in  its  relations 
to  motion,  and  this  subject  I  need  hardly  say  is 
known  by  the  name  of  Mechanics,  and  is  that  to  the 
development  of  which  the  Franklin  Institute  has 
directly  and  indirectly  contributed  for  the  last  fifty 
years. 

That  you  may  not  suppose  I  have  laid  undue  stress 
upon  this  point,  allow  me  to  quote  a  few  words  from 
a  late  enunciation  of  one  of  the  greatest  students  of 
science,  Helmholtz.  "  If,  however  (and  the  previous 
context  gives  these  words  the  force  of,  As  therefore), 
motion  is  the  primordial  change  which  lies  at  the 
root  of  all  other  changes  occurring  in  the  world, 
every  elementary  force  is  a  force  of  motion,  and  the 
ultimate  aim  of  physical  science  must  be  to  deter- 
mine the  movements  which  are  the  real  causes  of  all 
other  phenomena,  and  discover  the  motive  power  on 
which  they  depend ;  in  other  words,  to  merge  itself 
into  mechanics." 

We  may  then  fairly  say  that,  in  its  relations  to  the 
universe  at  large,  and  to  man's  knowledge  of  those 
material  surroundings  on  which  his  prosperity  so 


83 

largely  depends — the  work  of  the  Franklin  Insti- 
tute, founded  "  for  the  promotion  of  science  and  the 
mechanic  arts,"  has  been  a  noble  one  judiciously  di- 
rected ! 

We  may,  however,  well  ask  if  there  is  any  reason 
why  at  this  particular  time,  at  this  special  epoch  in 
the  world's  history,  such  a  subject  should  be  more 
than  ever  appropriate  and  desirable  ? 

The  comparison  of  national  growth  or  human  pro- 
gress with  the  development  of  a  child,  is  of  course 
familiar,  and  has  been  frequently  suggested,  but  is 
none  the  less  apt  and  fruitful  in  valuable  indications. 

Thus  we  see  in  the  infant,  or  in  the  infancy  of  the 
human  race,  at  first  only  physical  growth  and  de- 
velopment, the  strength  and  muscular  powers  of  the 
savage  and  of  the  barbarous  nation. 

Then  comes  in  the  child  the  period  of  growing 
intelligence,  first  developed  through  the  perceptions 
of  sense  and  the  workings  of  the  imagination,  that 
period  when  the  literature  of  the  fairy-tale  flourishes, 
and  Cinderellas  and  Bluebeards  people  the  world. 

To  this  we  find,  as  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  the 
race,  the  period  of  mythology,  and  the  "  golden  age" 
of  the  poets. 

Next  to  this  in  the  well-ordered  training  of  the 
child  comes  the  first  idea  of  moral  relations,  of 
duty,  of  piety,  of  a  divine  superior ;  and  to  this  we 
find  in  the  world's  history  the  corresponding  period 
of  revelation,  and  the  introduction  and  spread  of 
Christianity. 

Then  in  the  child  comes  the  education  in  methods 
of  expression.  The  child  learns  to  read,  to  write,  to 
express  himself,  and  to  grasp  the  thoughts  of  others 
in  various  languages. 

To  this  we  find  a  parallel  in  the  age  of  reviving 


84 

learning,  when  the  great  schools  of  Europe  were 
founded  and  flourished,  and  taught  the  classics, 
rhetoric,  logic,  and  other  cognate  subjects,  all  having 
a  direct  bearing  upon  modes  of  expression. 

ISTow  when  the  child  has  mastered  these  prelimi- 
naries, what  is  his  next  step,  if  he  does  the  best  for 
the  development  of  his  own  powers,  and  for  his  use- 
fulness, to  the  world  at  large?  You  will  at  once 
answer  me,  he  goes  out  from  the  shelter  of  the  scho- 
lastic walls  into  the  world  of  nature,  he  comes  in 
contact  with  its  facts,  the  laws  of  the  material  uni- 
verse, and  aided  by  the  physical  strength,  stimulated 
by  the  imagination,  restrained  by  the  moral  sense, 
guided  by  the  intellectual  training  which  he  has 
received,  he  begins  the  real  battle  of  life,  and  wrests 
from  nature,  by  his  own  exertions,  that  which  shall 
sustain  and  benefit  himself  and  his  species. 

What  then  may  we  look  for  from  the  race  which, 
at  this  present  point  in  its  career,  has  gone  through 
the  same  preparation,  but  that  it  should  address  it- 
self to  the  same  work,  and  with  frame,  heart,  soul, 
and  intellect  sufficiently  trained  for  the  task,  turn  to 
the  great  labor  of  developing  from  the  inexhaustible 
stores  of  the  universe,  the  vast  material  benefits 
which  there  await  its  research,  to  awake  into  benefi- 
cent energy  ? 

For  ourselves,  and  with  reference  to  our  own 
action  in  the  future,  this  comparison,  which  we  have 
just  made,  is  also  suggestive. 

This  great  boy  (the  human  race)  we  see  is  in  his 
workshop,  and  if  we  want  to  give  what  will  be  of 
most  use  and  pleasure  to  the  sturdy  youth,  we  must 
not  select  new  toys,  new  fairy-tales,  new  tracts,  or 
new  grammars,  but  new  tools. 

He  needs  no  new  games  for  his  amusement,  no 


85 

new  romances  to  develop  his  imagination,  surely  no 
new  religions  to  guide  his  soul,  and  no  new  lan- 
guages to  express  his  thoughts  ;  but  he  can  make 
the  best  use  of  any  quantity  of  new  tools,  and  of  the 
opportunity  and  instruction  for  their  employment. 


AT  the  subsidence  of  the  emphatic  applause 
offered  to  Prof.  Morton,  the  President  of  the  Insti- 
tute, Mr.  COLEMAX  SELLERS,  arose  and  addressed  the 
assembly. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  OOLEMAN  SELLERS, 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  FRANKLIN*  INSTITUTE. 

IT  is  well  nigh  forty  years  ago,  I  think,  that 
Professor  James  P.  Espy,  the  storm  king,  as  he  was 
called,  taught  school  in  the  Franklin  Institute  build- 
ing. The  present  model  room  was  his  school-room. 
Somehow,  ever  since  the  time  when  that  enthusiastic 
old  gentleman  tried  to  pound  learning  into  me — as 
was  the  wont  in  those  days  of  birch  rod  and  ratan 
rule — the  Franklin  Institute  has  been  connected  in 
my  mind  with  instruction,  with  learning.  No  more 
fitting  time  perhaps  than  now,  at  the  close  of  its 
fifty  years  of  usefulness,  to  tell  how  it  has  taught, 
how  it  can  teach,  and  what  need  there  is,  in  these 
days  of  progress,  for  certain  kinds  of  instruction  not 
yet  obtainable  in  our  common  schools. 

It  was  in  the  first  years  of  this  century  that  Dr. 
Birkbeck,  of  Glasgow,  conceived  the  idea  of  lecturing 
to  artisans  on  subjects  that  would  aid  them  in  their 
callings.  His  scheme  took  well ;  his  lecture-room 
was  crowded,  and  able  men  volunteered  to  aid  him 


86 

in  his  laudable  enterprise.  During  the  years  1823 
and  1824  the  first  Mechanics'  Institute  took  shape 
as  the  outgrowth  of  what  Dr.  Birkbeck  had  done, 
and  he  very  properly  was  called  to  preside  over  the 
first  one  founded  in  London.  Mr.  Brougham,  after- 
wards Lord  Brougham,  was  prominent  in  its  organ- 
ization. This  was  being  done  in  England  at  the 
very  time  our  Franklin  Institute  of  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania  for  the  promotion  of  the  Mechanic 
Arts  was  coming  into  existence.  "With  the  founda- 
tion of  the  London  Society  all  England  and  Scotland 
seemed  to  waken  to  the  need  of  scientific  instruction 
for  the  mechanics  and  artisans — and  in  all  the  great 
towns,  even  in  some  villages,  Mechanics'  Institutes 
sprang  up,  to  lead  a  short  life  of  active  usefulness, 
then  to  languish  and  to  die.  These  Mechanics' 
Institutes  were  not  organized  by  mechanics — they 
were  originated  by  philanthropic  persons,  who,  see- 
ing the  need  of  a  higher  education  of  the  working 
classes,  spent  their  time  and  their  money  in  this 
direction.  They  failed,  simply  because  those  for 
whom  they  were  created  would  not  avail  themselves 
of  their  advantages. 

Our  Franklin  Institute  was  from  the  beginning  a 
Mechanics'  Institute,  in  one  sense  of  the  word.  It 
taught  by  lectures,  and  sometimes  by  classes,  but  it 
was  always  more  than  was  contemplated  by  the 
societies  abroad.  If  I  may  so  express  myself,  it  was, 
and  still  is  a  democratic  learned  society  ;  it  is  not 
exclusive.  !N"o  well-behaved  person  is  excluded  from 
its  membership.  All  who  desire  to  reap  its  benefits, 
or  to  aid  it  in  its  great  work  of  promoting  the 
mechanic  arts,  can  join  it.  This  is  not  so  with  the 
so-called  learned  societies  of  this  and  other  lands. 
They  select  their  members  from  among  those  who 


87 

• 
have  already  distinguished  themselves  in  the  arts 

or  sciences,  or  are  likely  so  to  distinguish  them- 
selves ;  hence,  their  membership  is  confined  solely 
to  the  learned  of  the  land.  Now,  mark  the  differ- 
ence in  our  case.  Learned  men  join  our  society,  and 
in  its  hall  come  in  contact  with  those  who  may  be 
unlearned,  so  far  as  books  are  concerned,  but  better 
informed  in  some  special  art  or  trade.  Theory  and 
practice  are  brought  together,  and  each  helps  the 
other.  Distinguished  scientists  admit  that  they  are 
indebted  to  this  association  for  information  of  a 
practical  character,  probably  not  readily  obtainable 
otherwise.  While  on  the  other  hand  we,  each  one 
of  us,  know  how  we  have  been  benefited  by  their 
learning,  and  with  what  attentive  earnestness  we 
listen  to  their  words. 

In  the  youth  of  our  Institution,  when  this  now 
vast  city  was  comprised  within  narrow  limits,  when 
those  who  frequented  our  halls  were  less  scattered 
than  now,  each  day  and  each  evening  there  came 
together  a  little  band  of  congenial  spirits — mechanics, 
artisans,  and  professors,  who  labored  earnestly  to 
carry  out  the  great  aim  of  the  society,  and  who  were 
at  all  times  willing  to  sink  their  personality  in  the 
good  of  the  society.  Their  work  was  the  work  of 
the  Franklin  Institute,  not  of  its  individual  mem- 
bers. Among  those  men  who  gave  their  best  time 
and  energy  to  this  labor  were  many  men  neither 
mechanics,  artisans,  nor  professsonal  scientists,  but 
lovers  of  the  arts  and  sciences.  Looking  over  the 
pages  of  the  members'  roll — many  such  names  occur 
— few,  indeed,  of  the  early  ones  are  here  to  listen  to 
my  words  to-night.  With  one,  however,  I  have 
talked  much  of  late,  and  from  him  learned  very 
many  interesting  facts  relating  to  the  Institute.  It 


88 
• 
was  in  his  office  that  some  of  the  first  meetings  were 

held  that  led  to  its  organization,  and  his  knowledge 
of  its  workings  extends  through  its  entire  career. 
We  had  earnestly  hoped  that  he  would  have  ad- 
dressed you  this  evening,  but  his  strength  was  not 
equal  to  the  task.  So  I  promised  him  to  say  to  you 
it  is  his  firm  conviction  that  the*  vitality  of  the  In- 
stitute is  in  the  union,  the  close  union  and  mutual 
reaction  of  theory  and  practice.  He  recounted  many 
incidents  to  show  how  meritorious  inventors  had 
been  aided  by  disinterested  theorists ;  how  timely 
warning  from  the  better  informed  in  what  had  been 
done  has  saved  many  a  fruitless  ramble  over  already 
well-trodden  ground  in  the  search  for  novelties.  My 
first  recollections  of  the  workings  of  our  society  are 
inseparably  connected  with  his  name.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  first  committee  upon  which  I  served, 
and  his  wonderful  memory  was  my  astonishment 
then  as  it  is  now.  His  mind  was  an  open  encyclo- 
paedia to  us  all,  and  it  was  from  the  kind  interest 
taken  by  him  and  by  others  like  him  in  our  scientific 
labors  that  we  received  the  greatest  encouragement 
in  our  work.  I  have  ventured  to  take  this  kind 
gentleman,  Mr.  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  SMITH — as  an 
example  of  disinterested  labor  —  because  he  was 
neither  a  mechanic  nor  a  professional  scientist,  but 
nominally  a  lawyer  (I  know  not  if  he  practised  law), 
a  scholar  by  preference,  and  a  lover  of  all  that  tends 
to  advance  the  material  welfare  of  his  countrymen. 
It  was  the  work  done  by  him  and  many  others  like 
him  in  the  active,  thankless  duties  of  the  scientific 
committees,  that  made  many  of  our  most  valuable 
reports  of  so  great  use  to  the  world  at  large.  Among 
these  hard  workers  were  young  men  who  subscribed 
their  names  to  the  constitution  with  no  calling  as 


89 

yet  selected  to  mark  their  position  in  life — many  of 
them  since  known  to  fame.     In  that  long  roll,  too, 
may  be  found  names  of  men  now  noted  and  honored 
in  the  arts,  who  in  the  beginning  inscribed  after 
their  signatures  callings  and  trades  little  indicative 
of  their  after  greatness.     These  men  were  educated 
practically  in  the  "Franklin  Institute;  it  was  there 
their  minds  received  direction.     Thus  the  Franklin 
Institute  has  prospered  in  its  teaching — in  its  teach- 
ing of  men  by  men.     Out  of  the  town  that  saw  the 
beginning  of  our  society  fifty  years  ago,  Philadelphia 
has  now  spread  over  an  entire  county,  and  in  area 
is,  perhaps,  the  largest  city  in  the  world  under  one 
municipal  government,  and  to-day  it  stands  in  the 
front  ranks  of  industry.    To  say  it  is  the  Manchester 
of  America  is  saying  but  part  of  the  truth.     The 
world  in  congress  at  Paris  and  Vienna  recognized 
this,  and  gave  first  honors  to  our  workmen.      Phi- 
lanthropists from  abroad  visit  us  and  ask  to  be  shown 
the  place  where  the  working  people — not  crowded 
in  filthy  tenement-houses  and  hovels — live  each  in 
his  own  home — his   neat,  comfortable   home;   and 
they  seek  to  know  how  far  education  has  progressed 
among  the  makers  of  the  wealth  of  the  world.    They 
know  full  well  that  the  rudiments  of  science,  at  least, 
are  needed  by  all  mechanics  in  all  trades ;  they  know 
full  well  that  the  great  universal  language  of  man- 
kind, the  language  of  the  pencil,  the  picture  language, 
is  the  very  foundation  of  all  the  arts ;  everything 
that  is  to  be  made,  at  least  well  made,  must  be  first 
drawn,  must  find  its  shape'  on   paper.     They  visit 
our  common  schools,  and  they  note  that  the  pupils 
have  plenty  of  grammar,  plenty  of  geography,  and 
spelling,  and  reading,  and  so  on,  but  barely  rudiments 
7 


90 

of  science,  and  scarcely  any  drawing  whatever ;  this, 
too,  when  the  world  is  crying  aloud  for  technical 
education.  How  strange  it  must  seem  to  those  who 
come  to  us  from  the  old  countries,  where  the  schools 
of  art  are  side  by  side  with  the  museums  and  the 
great  art  galleries,  and  where  all  these  great  collec- 
tions are  open  to  their  advantage,  each  and  every 
day  of  the  week,  where  the  use  of  the  pencil,  the 
only  universal  language  of  the  world,  is  taught  with 
the  a,  b,  c's  of  their  native  tongue.  We  can  indeed 
say,  that  for  well  nigh  fifty  years,  the  Franklin  In- 
stitute has  tried  to  remedy  this  defect.  There  almost 
only  can  the  young  mechanic  obtain  the  principles 
of  the  art.  It  is  true,  our  noble  Academy  of  Fine 
Arts  throws  open  wide  its  doors  to  those  who  can 
take  the  time  to  avail  themselves»of  its  classes,  and 
the  School  of  Design  for  Women,  an  outgrowth  of 
our  Institution, does  its  part;  the  High  School,  with 
its  night  classes  for  artisans,  helps  in  the  work ;  but 
of  the  thousands  of  children  who  pass  each  year 
through  our  common  schools,  how  few  can  avail 
themselves  of  the  chances,  how  few  know  the  need 
of  the  art  that  underlies  all  other  arts? 

Our  common  school  education  gives  us  traders, 
gives  us  shopkeepers,  but  it  gives  us  no  artisans.  I 
know  not  if  this  can  be  remedied,  but  I  do  know 
we  require  some  other  training  for  our  sons  and  our 
daughters. 

But  two  years  hence  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
will  be  represented  in  our  park — they  will  bring 
with  them  the  work  of  their  hands  and  their  brains. 
Then  will  our  people  be  able  to  see  and  judge  for 
themselves  how  early  education  reacts  on  art,  and 
how  much  need  we  have  for  cultivation  and  refine- 
ment to  exalt  the  faculties  of  our  artisans.  Go  into 


91 

our  great  industrial  establishments,  and  seek  out  the 
modellers  and  the  designers,  the  draughtsmen,  speak 
to  them,  and  many  times  you  will  be  greeted  with 
the  accents  of  a  foreign  tongue.  True  we  pay  high 
wages,  and  the  educated  designers  of  Europe  will 
make  their  home  on  our  shores.  But  why  not  train 
our  children  to  fill  these  places  ?  Most  unquestion- 
ably there  is  a  freshness  of  thought  and  an  origin- 
ality of  conception  in  the  products  of  American 
ingenuity,  but  they  lack,  sadly  lack  in  some  respects, 
a  cultivated  and  refined  appreciation  of  the  beautiful. 
There  was  a  time  not  fifty  years  ago  when  the 
workshops  of  Philadelphia  competed  only  one  with 
another.  Trade  was  confined  to  narrow  limits;  with 
little  competition  there  was  little  need  of  economy 
and  careful  calculation  in  the  conduct  of  our  facto- 
ries. Now  the  railroad,  the  steamship,  and  thought 
borne  on  the  wings  of  lightning,  have  broken  down 
all  geographical  barriers,  and  the  workshops  of 
Philadelphia  find  competitors  in  the  workshops  and 
cheap  labor  of  the  oldest  lands.  How  are  we  to  hold 
the  van  in  this  strife  but  by  more  excellent  produc- 
tions more  cheaply  produced  ?  How  are  we  to  achieve 
this  result  but  by  putting  more  brains  in  our  work? 
Say  not  to  me  that  learning  unfits  our  men  for  work. 
I  tell  you  proper  instruction  is  what  our  working 
people  most  need — what  the  Franklin  Institute  has 
ever  tried  to  give  them.  There  is  in  the  world 
drudgery  to  be  done,  drudgery  that  needs  no  brain 
work,  but  there  will  be  through  all  times  enough 
stupidity  to  satisfy  all  the  wants  in  this  direction, 
and  intelligent  laborers  will  make  their  heads  save 
their  hands  to  their  own  profit  and  the  benefit  of  the 
whole  human  family.  That  a  means  of  educating 
our  young  men  and  young  women  in  the  direction 


92 

of  practical  industries  is  greatly  needed  is  evinced  by 
the  change  now  progressing  in  our  higher  schools. 
Over  our  broad  land  technical  colleges  are  springing 
up,  and  students  are  crowding  their  halls.  In  our 
midst  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  coupled  with 
whose  history  is  the  name  of  Franklin,  whose  pro- 
fessors and  teachers  are  our  own  active  fellow-mem- 
bers, but  a  little  while  ago  reared  for  itself  vast  halls 
for  learning,  yonder  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Schuyl- 
kill — this,  to  make  room  for  science,  to  enable  our 
young  men  to  fit  themselves  to  be  engineers,  to  be 
architects,  to  be  what  they  will.  The  learning  there 
acquired  is  with  an  aim.  The  student  has  a  profes- 
sion before  him,  and  he  prepares  himself  for  his  life's 
work.  These  schools  and  colleges  do  but  a  part  of 
the  work  ;  it  is  with  men  as  men,  they  must  continue 
their  training. 

Fathers  and  mothers  of  my  dearly  loved  country, 
believe  me  no  want  is  so  deeply  felt  in  this  land  as 
the  want  of  practical,  technical  education,  (live  to 
your  sons  and  to  your  daughters  a  sound  foundation 
of  useful  learning;  teach  them  the  pleasures,  the 
dignity  of  skilful  manual  labor ;  make  their  minds 
leaders  of  their  hands,  and  teach  their  hands  to  be 
willing  servants  to  their  minds.  It  was  but  the 
•other  day  that  a  chemist  in  a  rolling  mill  would 
have  been  laughed  at  by  the  practical  iron  masters 
of  the  land.  Now,  a  leading  engineer  says  on  the 
public  rostrum,  that  the  future  of  our  iron  interests 
is  in  the  hands  of  our  chemists,  in  the  laboratory, 
and  in  learning.  Would  you  have  your  children 
take  part  in  this  great  work  ?  Remember  that  in 
all  our  workshops  there  are  places  for  but  few  of 
them  as  learners,  as  apprentices.  Give  to  them, 
therefore,  that  instruction  that  will  make  them  of 


93 

value  in  the  land,  that  will  cause  them  to  be  selected 
for  places  of  trust ;  for  the  contest  in  tile  world's  in- 
dustries in  the  future  is  to  be  fought  with  brains, 
not  with  hands  alone. 

The  Franklin  Institute  has  for  fifty  years  been 
laboring  in  the  direction  of  the  scientific  education 

O 

of  mechanics,  and  proud  are  its  members  of  the  work 
it  has  done.  Yet  how  true  the  words  seem,  that 
came  to  us  last  Tuesday  in  our  Public  Ledger,  when 
it  told  the  story  of  this  Society's  usefulness,  and  said, 
"  its  achievements,  we  believe,  have  been  more 
thoroughly  recognized  and  appreciated  everywhere 
than  here  in  its  own  home.  This  is  said  to  be  cha- 
racteristic of  Philadelphia,  that  it  does  not  '  exploit' 
its  own  good  works.  It  would  be  well  if  our  people 
were  of  a  different  habit  in  this  respect,  and  it 
would  be  better  if,  at  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the 
Institute  on  Tuesday  next,  at  Musical  Fund  Hall, 
there  should  be  inaugurated  a  new  era  of  the  recog- 
nition and  appreciation  of  its  merits,  its  services,  its 
great  usefulness,  and  its  honorable  record.  If  Boston 
possessed  such  an  institute,  with  such  a  history,  its 
renown  would  not  be  allowed  to  become  dim  at  home 
by  any  lack  of  public  proclamation  of  what  it  is  and 
what  it  has  done." 

Citizens  of  Philadelphia,  your  Institute's  useful- 
ness is  limited  only  by  its  pecuniary  means.  Its 
fifty  years'  work  has  been  done  with  but  little  money 
to  do  it  with.  2s"o  liberal  endowment  has  placed  it 
beyond  want,  and  rigid  economy  has  barely  eked  out 
the  yearly  contributions  to  meet  the  most  pressing 
wants.  Shall  it  be  so  in  the  future  ?  It  is  not  asked 
that  you  give  to  it,  hoping  for  no  return.  What  we 
want  is  your  good  names  added  to  our  list  of  mem- 
bers. In  a  population  of  well  nigh  a  million,  scarcely 


94 

900  names  are  on  our  roll  of  members.  All  the 
world'  abroad  knows  and  honors  our  Institute. 
Talented  men  in  distant  cities  ask  to  be,  and  are 
proud  to  be,  considered  members  of  it.  Will  not 
you  join  us  in  our  task,  and  when  the  Centennial  of 
our  nation's  freedom  is  being  celebrated  in  our  midst, 
say  to  your  guests  that  you  are  members  of  the 
Franklin  Institute  ? 

Working  men  of  Philadelphia,  let  me  rather  say 
fellow-workmen  of  America,  my  most  earnest  sym- 
pathies are  with  you  in  all  your  efforts  towards  self- 
improvement.  My  own  path  in  life  started  from  the 
school-house  through  as  lowly  walks  in  life  as  any 
of  yours.  If  fortune  has  led  me  to  higher  usefulness, 
believe  me  it  has  been  not  without  diligent  applica- 
tion and  hard  study.  To  you  the  Franklin  Institute 
opens  its  doors  and  affords  you  a  sure  way  of  in- 
creasing your  store  of  knowledge.  Attend  .its  lec- 
tures, be  present  at  its  meetings,  give  from  your 
store  of  practical  experience  freely,  take  in  return 
what  others  can  give  to  you.  It  will  be  to  you  as  it 
has  been  to  me  and  to  others — a  school  of  great 
value.  Trust  me,  the  teaching  of  man  by  man  in 
frequent  intercourse  is  the  most  potent  means  of  ac- 
quiring knowledge,  and  knowledge  well  applied  is 
indeed  a  power. 

At  the  close  of  Mr.  Sellers's  address  the  meeting 
adjourned. 


LINES 

OX  THE  FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  OF  THE  FRANKLIN  INSTITUTE. 

BY  AN  OLD  MEMBER. 

OUR  golden  Pentecostal  year  has  passed, 
And. the  new  Fifty  whitens  in  the  east. 
How  few  and  far  between  the  Fathers  stand 
Though  sought  with  keenest  eye  amid  the  throng  ! 
As  memory  summons  the  old  roll  anew 
The  chilling  silence  falls  upon  our  hearts  ; 
At  length  with  strange  deliberate  haste  they  speak 
And  point  us  to  the  bright  propitious  sky 
That  glows  above  and  well  predicts  the  triumph. 

Those  fifty  years  !  shall  we  not  spare  a  glance 
To  mark  their  mission  and  the  sheaves  they  bring, 
Ere  stern  Oblivion  swings  his  shadowy  door 
Which  ever  hides  our  best  and  loved  too  soon  ? — 
Those  seven-times-seven-and-one  may  well  atone 
For  the  slow  slumbering  thousands  which  precede  them. 

Surely  the  era  is  our  FRANKLIN'S  own  ; 
And  let  no  other  name  with  his  intrude, 
As  harness' d  on  the  iron  gossamer 
The  silent  thunder  under  his  strong  spell 
Yoked  with  the  carrier  dove,  submissive  bears 
Our  griefs  or  greetings  through  the  ambient  sky, 
Or  (strange  alternative)  with  equal  speed 
Invades  the  horrid  depths  of  ocean's  caves, 
Stirring  their  monsters  with  unwonted  thrill 
While  hurrying  by  charged  with  the  fate  of  nations  ! 
The  Twins  of  Fire  and  Water,  whose  joint  might 
Archimedes  dare  not  anticipate, 
Attained  their  manhood's  stature  in  this  term, 
So  emulous  to  urge  the  towering  barque 
Through  angriest  seas,  or  drive  the  rampant  car 
That  on  its  thousand  miles  of  prairie  plain 
But  gathers  breath  to  climb  the  mountain  side  ! 


96 


We  range  these  startling  marvels  in  the  van, 
Yet  nobler  victories  are  on  our  scroll, 
"Which  ask  no  heralding  by  sound  of  trumpet, 
But,  like  the  morning  light,  the  evening  dew, 
Fall  indiscriminate  and  silently  : — 
The  myriad  Loom  that  surfeits  Fashion's  call  ; 
The  tireless  Needle  even  in  the  race  ; 
The  subtle  Essence  of  the  cumbrous  Lamp 
Spread  through  dark  iron  arteries  by  miles 
Yet  answering  to  our  beck  in  every  loft, 
In  cellar,  hall,  or  chamber,  day  and  night ; 
The  Planting  Plough  and  rolling  Reaping  Car 
Which  seem  to  hail  each  other  in  the  field 
And  mix  their  tasks  in  wondrous  harmony ; 
The  Anvil  shaped  and  burnished  like  a  shrine  ; 
The  Hammer  quiv'ring  like  the  humming-bird  ; 
Light's  mild  mysterious  picture  which  presents 
Face  of  Apelles  from  Apollo's  hand  ; 
Again,  the  seeming  ravage  of  the  Rainbow, 
That  plucks  its  tints  apart  as  in  the  fable 
Penelope  undid  her  patient  web, 
Yet  while  we  gaze  begins  the  retribution  — 
From  the  dread  depths  of  space  comes  laden  back 
With  hidden  truths  extorted  from  the  stars  ; 
And  last,  the  Sovereign  Press,  ordained  to  hurl 
The  bolt  that  surely  smites  or  sanctifies 
Art's  endless  Work  through  the  wide  realm  of  mind  ! 

Such  are  our  peaceful  triumphs  that  look  down 
From  the  blue  arch  of  half  a  century, 
As  constellations  o'er  the  heads  of  all ; 
Whose  smile  surrounds — pervades  our  model  dwellings, 
Where  labor  shares  refinement  without  pride, 
As  Philadelphia's  peculiar  fare  ! 

The  iridescent  rays  of  scattered  power 
Our  INSTITUTE  collects  and  concentrates, 
Then  sends  them  forth  in  scientific  phalanx 
To  conquer  nature  and  to  bless  mankind. 
This  was  the  high  ambition  of  its  founders 
Who  (like  the  steward  in  the  parable) 
O'er  the  few  things  allowed  them  have  been  faithful. 
May  those  who  follow  have  the  full  "ten  talents," 
And  well  improve  the  new  and  larger  trust! 


FOURTEEN  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  "which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


LIBRARY  USE 

JUL  1 2  1956 


REC'D  LD 

MAY  1 3  1959 


jr i 

MAY  1  0 1983 


LD  21-100m-2,'55 
(B139s22)476 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


